You Know You're Right
by Eyes-of-Crimson
Summary: [BakuraxJoey] There had been nothing wrong with loving another darkness, especially one who was just about as wrong as you were. But what happens when you fall out of love, and you fall for the one who's different? The one who's right?
1. Prologue

**A/N:** New story, yay! It's Bakura/Joey, as I'm sure the summary said. I'm using the American names mainly because I haven't been feeling up to typing 'Jounouchi' and such. Just call it laziness and unwillingness and leave it at that. The song, "You Know You're Right" is sung by Nirvana, and I love this song very much, as well as peanut-butter-and-pickle sandwiches.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own YGO or its characters. They all belong to Kazuki Takahashi.

**

* * *

Prologue**

Bakura yawned, sitting up and stretching his arms out above his head. When he opened his eyes he found himself staring at the wall of the living room. For a while he pondered on why he was be staring at the living room wall right now, until it hit him that he had fallen asleep watching TV again. Some weird show where they showed how police used forensic evidence to find killers and such had been on late that night. Bakura usually watched them only to plot ways to completely puzzle officers in case he felt like stealing something or killing someone.

He shook his head, and got off the couch, stumbling a bit. He scratched his head and sauntered into the good-smelling kitchen lazily, expecting to see Ryou making some random breakfast. Instead of seeing Ryou making breakfast, he found Marik making sandwiches. For a moment Bakura wondered if he was really still sleeping and this impossible sight before him was only a dream, or if Marik had been driven off the deep end and lost all trace of whatever sanity he even had.

Marik didn't even look behind him or stop spreading peanut butter on the bread slices when he asked, "Have a good sleep?" Bakura blinked, and pinched himself with his claws, flinching as he did so. He guessed it wasn't a dream after all.

"Yeah. But the waking up's what's scaring me right now." he replied, walking in beside his fellow yami. Marik looked at him for a moment, and went back to putting pickle slices on the peanut-buttered bread. Bakura scrunched up his nose. "Why're you here anyway? And making _sandwiches_, no less." Marik, once again, didn't look at him as he spoke calmly.

"Ryou left you in my care while he's out today. He said that last time he left you alone you called 9-1-1 because the TV broke and called a cable guy when you speared someone with your dagger." he answered. Bakura blinked.

"Still doesn't explain why they hell you're making sandwiches in my kitchen." he stated, furrowing his eyebrows as Marik finished making the peanut-butter-and-pickle sandwich, getting out a knife to cut off the crust.

"I got hungry." Marik replied, moving the crust to the side and cutting the sandwich diagonally from the top left corner down to the bottom right. Bakura scrunched up his face yet again.

"You made a lot."

"There are some for you, too, Baka-ra."

"Are they all peanut-butter-and-pickle?" Bakura asked with disgust. Marik, taking a bite out of one of the halves of his sandwich, shook his head. He pointed to the note that had been posted on the fridge with a magnet. Bakura wandered over to read it.

'Marik,

Help yourself to anything in the fridge. Bakura doesn't like pickles so be careful if you eat them because he has some…issues with them as well.

Ja ne! –Ryou'

Bakura blinked. "Thoughtful hikari, isn't he?" he muttered, going back to where he originally was. He heaved himself up onto the counter backwards so that he was facing the same way as Marik's back was. He swung his legs a bit, and looked at the tanned yami. "What other kinds _did_ you make?"

Marik swallowed. "A few peanut butters, one ham and cheese, and two or three ham, cheese, and mayo." Bakura stared at the sandwiches.

"You must've been bored." he said as he grabbed the only ham and cheese, nibbling on it. Marik shrugged.

"This is the third peanut-butter-and-pickle I've had." he said, finishing off the half in his hand with one big bite. Bakura twitched.

"I hate pickles." he stated. Marik shrugged again, still chewing. Bakura was sure that he would've just said, "Not my problem. Shut up." He sighed softly, taking a bigger bite of the sandwich. Marik poked him, trying to get his attention. "Yeah?"

"What do you usually do around here? It's boring and I was watching _horror films_ while you were sleeping." he inquired. Bakura thought for a moment. That would explain all the random girls screaming bloody murder in his dream, then.

"Normally I just lie around or go outside and terrorize somebody. There's not a whole lot to do." he said, taking a large bite. Marik groaned.

"You mean I'm stuck with you until three with nothing to do?" he asked exasperatedly. Bakura shrugged.

"I dunno. I just woke up to find you making sandwiches in my kitchen." he muttered. Just as he was about to bite into the sandwich again, he remembered something. "Oh, what was that that smelled so good?" Marik shrugged.

"The pickles, probably. They've got a strong smell and your sense of smell is way stronger than a normal person's." he concluded. Bakura twitched again, shuddering.

"I hate pickles."


	2. CH1: Problem With Love

**A/N:** There's a big MarikxBakura thing in here, though it's more one-sided. Hope you like. Sadly, ff dot net doesn't like ? plus ! cuz there's lots of it in here, as well as ! times two or three. OOC Bakura and Marik, but hopefully not fatally.

**Disclaimer:** Don't own YGO.

**

* * *

Chapter 1: Problem With Love**

Bakura sighed, swinging his legs. He sat on the railing that blocked his and Ryou's apartment porch from everything other than the stairs going down. Ryou would have a fit if he caught Bakura doing this, but Bakura didn't care. He was out of the house, sitting, and at the same time taking a risk. Marik leaned over the railing, propping his head up with his hand, looking very bored, hanging-out tongue and all. Bakura had never understood Marik's tongue fetish, but had decided to just leave it be.

He leant back and then forward, just about as bored as the other yami. His eyes were almost closed, both tired and un-amused. He looked down at Marik, who had closed his eyes. He was most likely trying to sleep, but had to stay awake to make sure Bakura didn't commit random suicide. Bakura groaned, halting the swinging of his legs. Marik had noticed that the railing had stopped moving with Bakura's motions, and opened one eye to look at him.

"What?" he asked. Bakura sighed, slumping.

"Bored."

"Same here."

"What do you want to do?"

"Anything."

"Wanna go steal something?"

Marik looked at Bakura, who had been dead serious. He shook his head. "Malik would have my head one way or another." Bakura cocked an eyebrow.

"Why?"

Marik grinned.

"For not dragging him along."

Bakura chuckled, and stared back out at the scenery. He started rocking his legs again. "Where is he, anyway?"

"Egypt. Isis and Rishid wanted to go visit and took Malik with them."

Bakura nodded. "I see." There was a silence then, neither making a noise. Marik had opened both his eyes now, staring lazily at the street below. Bakura glanced over at him, studying him. Once upon a time he had really liked Marik, but had given it all up when he convinced himself that Marik would have never felt the same. He sighed again, leaning forward. He couldn't help but notice as Marik's attention switched back to him. In his mind he grinned, but on the outside he kept his 'whatever' look on. He kept leaning, and he swore that Marik's eyes had flashed with worry.

"Bakura!" he yelled, grabbing onto Bakura's shirt with both hands. Bakura now grinned, letting go of the bar. Marik started panicking just the slightest. "Bakura, you bitch!" With that he wrapped his arms around Bakura's waist, pulling him off the railing and holding him bridal-style. Bakura blushed a bit, not used to such a form of physical contact. Marik held onto him tight, as if making sure Bakura was really there. Bakura blinked his red eyes, his mouth slightly open in shock. He felt Marik put his face in his hair, and he went rigid in his grasp.

"Marik…" Bakura muttered. Marik didn't answer, nor did he move. Bakura started wiggling, but Marik only tightened his hold.

"You idiotic piece of shit…" the dark voice murmured in Bakura's hair. Bakura grunted, still struggling to escape from Marik. Marik finally let him down, lowering his legs first and making sure he could stand before he removed his arm from his shoulders. Bakura's cheeks still had a tinge of red on them, and his heart was pounding. Why had such a simple action embarrassed him so much? Well, other than the fact that Marik had held him like a groom would his bride in public, of course. But Bakura didn't like Marik like that anymore…

He didn't say anything, only staggered to the bar again. Marik didn't make a sound either, and Bakura could only guess that he was thinking. He was doing so now, too. Last time he had checked, Marik wouldn't have cared if he had shot his own brains out from stupidity alone. But now…he had "saved" him, although Bakura had no intention of falling. When Marik had called out his name, gripped onto his shirt, and when he saw the worry in those violet eyes, Bakura found himself wishing he hadn't fallen out of love with him.

"So what, no 'thanks'?" Marik asked behind him. Bakura caught the annoyance in his tone, questioning why a simple 'thanks' would mean so much to him. He turned around, looking Marik in the eyes.

"I had no intention of pummeling to my death." he stated in a 'matter-of-fact' tone. Marik glared at him, however not the 'I hate you' glare, but more of a concerned 'I hate you' glare.

"And if you had fallen?" he asked, growling. Bakura shrugged.

"I'd be the first man to die twice in a span of 5,000 years." he said nonchalantly. Marik's eyes narrowed more, his sharp teeth bared. Bakura shivered.

"It's not funny, you idiotic little asshole." Marik hissed. Bakura glared.

"What's it to you, huh? So what if I had died, why would _you_ care?" he challenged, crossing his arms. Marik took a step towards him, making him urge to step back. He sent Marik's glare right back at him, a tad nervous. Marik's growls grew more dangerous, and Bakura's foot shifted back a bit.

"Why would I care? Why would I care!" he yelled.

"Yeah!"

Marik glared, clenched his fist, and then punched Bakura. Bakura, taken by surprise, fell back against the railing, holding his cheek. He glared, growling as well. Marik huffed and turned back, stomping to the door.

"Hey! What the fuck's your _problem_!" Bakura shouted, his eyes an angry crimson. Marik spun back around, his eyes a scary shade of violet and his lips curled up in a snarl. He took heavy footsteps back towards Bakura, growling and clenching his fists. Bakura swallowed.

"What's my _problem_! You wanna know what the FUCK'S MY PROBLEM!" Marik's voice thundered with rage. Bakura glared, getting back on the offense.

"Yeah, I wanna know what the fuck's you're pro—"

Marik grabbed his face and crashed his lips down onto his, ensnaring him in a searing kiss. Bakura's eyes widened to the size of dinner plates and he was too frozen in place to try to resist it. Marik's roughness amplified to the point that Bakura was convinced his lips would be bruised noticeably, and maybe his tongue would be, too if Marik kept kissing him so hard. Bakura, snapping back to reality, started fighting back, tossing his head and pounding on Marik's shoulders.

Marik tightened his grip on Bakura's face, digging his sharp nails into his pale skin. Bakura felt himself being shoved back against the railing, letting out a yelp of surprise and some pain. The sound seemed to catch Marik's attention, for he broke the kiss just as suddenly and quickly as he had started it. Bakura was panting, trying to take in all the air lost from the forceful kiss. Marik held Bakura's face strongly, making them lock eyes with each other.

Bakura stared at him, disbelief above all in his eyes. The emotion was soon replaced with raw anger, and he struggled against Marik's hold, trying to break away from his grip. Marik held him there tight, and kissed him again. This time Bakura clamped his jaws on Marik's lower lip, drawing blood almost instantly. Marik stopped, and ripped his lip from Bakura's teeth. He looked at the albino, ignoring the blood seeping down his chin. Bakura was the first to speak.

"What the hell!" he shouted in Marik's face. Marik's expression didn't change.

"_That's_ what's my problem." he said seriously. Bakura glared, and shoved Marik away, spinning around with his back to the Egyptian. He gripped the bar firmly, his bangs shadowing his face as he bared his fangs.

"Go away." he hissed. Marik didn't budge. "Go away." he repeated, louder. Still, nothing happened. Bakura turned back around, a few tears stinging his eyes. "GO AWAY!" he roared. Marik barely moved an inch. "DIDN'T YOU RA-DAMNED HEAR ME! _GO AWAY_!"

Marik blinked, sadness in his eyes when the eyelid lifted. Bakura's anger started to disappear. Seeing such a look in a demon's eyes would make you feel bad, too.

"Bakura…" he muttered, almost pleadingly. Bakura shook his head.

"No! I don't love you anymore! Go away!" he yelled, gripping his head. Marik now looked shocked, and Bakura could easily read his questioning words just by looking at his face. "Yes! I used to love you! But I don't anymore!" Then he started whimpering ever so softly. "You had your chance…you didn't take it…I loved you and you never noticed…" Finally, he started tugging on his white hair, sniffling.

Marik took a step towards him, wanting to comfort him. "'Kura…" Bakura shook his head. "'Kura…why didn't you ever tell me?" Once again, he only received a wild head shake of 'no'. Bakura looked at him, tears lining his eyes.

"You never noticed…"

And then he hopped onto the railing, much like a cat, and leapt off, soaring. He heard Marik call his name, and shut his eyes tight, only to snap them back open. Just as he neared the ground below, he curled a bit, preparing. Once he landed, he went straight into a summersault, much like in the video games he played. He stood once he regained his coordination, and looked back up at Marik. Marik was just staring down at him, his arm retreating as if he had reached out. Bakura turned away, and took off sprinting down the street, not sure what he'd do or who he'd find.


	3. CH2: Different

**A/N:** Yay, Joey! I still think I got Bakura a bit OOC still, so sorry if you're bothered by it.

**Disclaimer:** Don't own YGO.

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Chapter 2: Different**

He had been running for Ra-knows-how-long, and he had no intention of stopping. His breath was in huffs, and the people around him gave him odd looks. Every so often he'd shove them out of his way, as if he were in a hurry. He had no idea where he was going, only that he didn't want to return home as long as _he_ was there. Suddenly, he lost his footing, and fell straight down to the cold pavement below. He extended his arms, yet kept them bent, catching his fall. He only took a second to recover before he jumped back to his feet and took off running yet again.

Joey only stopped when he had realized he had turned into a dead-end alley. The darkness shrouding it confused him, him not being used to such a bleak area. He took deep breaths, and thumped his back against the wall, sliding down until he sat. His diaphragm area heaved up and down in unison with his deep breaths, his head tilted back and mouth wide open. His eyes were closed, his eyebrows furrowed. Blond hair wavered in his sweating face, some strands sticking to his forehead.

"Damn…it…" he huffed. He and his father had started up another war, and Joey had no idea that he would pull out _that_. And on his own son! He shook his head and relaxed even though he was still taking in air as if he had been nearly drowned. Joey's shoulders slumped, and his legs sprawled out on the ground. Damn, he was tired…

Then he heard footsteps skidding. His head spun to the direction in which he had entered the alley, his chocolate eyes widening. The figure was also breathing heavily, and seemed to pay no heed to Joey. He kept running towards him, but was looking straight ahead. Joey watched, not believing that someone would be stupid enough to run as fast as he could down a dead-end alleyway. He had forgotten about his extended legs, and regretted so when the figure tripped ungracefully over them, causing pain for the both of them. Joey flinched, and gathered his legs to his chest.

The figure, now on his stomach, groaned. Joey blinked, and leant a little closer, recognizing the wild white hair instantly.

"Ryou?" he asked, a bit hesitantly. 'Ryou' panted, and shoved himself up, whirling around in a sitting position facing Joey. At the sight of the gleaming red eyes, Joey knew his mistake immediately. But the yami didn't say anything, only shook his head and scooted back to the wall, panting as he used the concrete as support much like Joey had. His eyes shut, taking in needed breath.

Joey let his legs slide down to Earth, but kept them bent a bit as not to bother the man he had mistaken as his kind British friend. Hey, he didn't want to get murdered today. He already had a near experience with that today. The memory hurt him, and he looked down at his knees sulking. He didn't notice the yami catch his breath quickly and stare at him.

"Forgot your name." he said simply. Joey looked up, and was surprised to find the crimson eyes clear of any hostility. He gave a half-assed smile.

"Name's Joey, man."

"Oi. Yami no Bakura. Just shorten it to Bakura."

Joey chuckled a bit, and Bakura cocked an eyebrow.

"Nice to meet ya, Bakura." he said, holding his hand out. Bakura stared at it, and then looked back up at Joey.

"What?" he asked, flicking his eyes down to Joey's outstretched hand. Joey blinked, and smiled again.

"That's what ya do when ya meet new people. You shake their hands." he explained. Bakura switched his attention back to Joey's hand. He slowly brought his hand up, and stiffly grasped Joey's. Joey grinned, and moved his arm up and down. Bakura's followed, coming out of the state of rigid-ness. They let go, Bakura more quickly.

"So, what brings you here?" the yami asked. Joey gave a rueful smile.

"Dad and I started fighting again. He pulled a gun on me." he told him. For some reason, he just felt he could be more open with Bakura. Bakura just shrugged a bit.

"I'd take that instead of what just happened to _me_." he admitted, leaning his head lazily to the side. Joey looked at him, shocked.

"Why? You'd rather have your own father threaten to shoot you?" he asked, annoyance in his tone. Bakura shrugged again.

"We're different. I can tell."

"Well…yeah. You're psycho and I'm sane."

Bakura narrowed his eyes, but not in the glaring way. Joey just grinned goofily.

"Mention 'psycho' one more time and I'll…" Bakura trailed off, his eyes now glaring. Joey shrugged, still grinning.

"Why?"

Bakura stiffened noticeably.

"…I'd rather not talk about it."

Joey cocked his head to the side, looking much like a confused puppy. He could only guess, but he thought it had something to do with one of the maniacal Ishtars…

"Alright. How's Ryou?"

Bakura shrugged again. "Fine. He's been disappearing a lot lately during the day, though." At this Bakura grew a knowing grin, as if he had known something was up. Joey didn't really expect the albino's thoughts to be 100 percent correct, but he had his suspicions as well, too.

"That's good. Malik?"

"Egypt with Isis and Rishid."

"I see. Marik?"

Bakura went silent and still. He didn't even blink, only stared with clouded eyes to the side. His breathing even seemed to stop. Joey's lips parted slightly in minor surprise, and he looked concerned. He reached over, poking Bakura's foot. Bakura didn't move. Joey pouted a bit.

"Bakura?" he asked quietly. Bakura shut his eyes, and turned his head to face Joey fully, the sun casting a light on the lower part of his face. Joey didn't understand at first, but when he found himself staring at Bakura's features, he noticed little splotches around his mouth. A sudden intake of breath was a sign of his realization. Bakura opened his eyes, and stared at Joey.

Joey stared back, seeing a certain pleading in the red pools. He reached over again, and put his hand on Bakura's ankle. Bakura didn't even look at the hand, only focusing on the blond.

"Life sucks." he muttered, a small forced grin on his face. Joey grinned back, chuckling.

"Life sucks balls."

Then they both started laughing, neither sure of what came over them.

* * *

"Nice talkin' to ya, Bakura." Joey said, smiling a real smile for the first time in a few days. Bakura grinned back, hitting Joey's back playfully. 

"Same here, Joe." he said, and stopped to watch Joey go to the apartment stairs. Bakura kept grinning, not sure why. It was when Joey stopped and looked over the balcony waving that Bakura remembered why he had been running blindly down that alley. A small wave of sadness hit him, but was obliterated by Joey's voice.

"Meet me at the park tomorrow! At noon!"

Bakura stared up at him, disbelief in his eyes. He grinned, however, and gave a small wave of his hand, stalking back down the sidewalk towards home. He pretended not to hear the loud crashing of a beer bottle behind him as he walked on alone. In truth, he didn't want to return home in fear that Marik would still be there, wanting an explanation. He really wanted to run back to Joey and protect him from his abusive and drunken father. But he knew he would only cause more trouble than there was to begin with. He remembered something Joey said, and now he felt the need to carry it out.

"_Sometimes I wish he would just die."_

Bakura had not objected. Joey had taken it back almost instantly.

Huh, they really were different.


	4. CH3: Date?

**A/N:** Here's the next chappie, enjoy! I hope I didn't get anybody OOC...or at least too much.

**Disclaimer:** I dun own YGO, just this story.

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Chapter 3: Date?**

Joey hummed to himself as he ran his fingers through his dirty blond hair, just now cleaned and dried from his shower. He wore his usual white T-shirt and blue jeans, but decided to use the chain wallet he had bought long ago. He made the excuse that it was because his other one was worn-out, but in the back of his mind he knew he just wanted to impress a certain white-haired yami. He walked out the door, locking it behind him. His father was still sleeping, so he had no morning encounters today.

Just as he started down the steps, his phone rang. He plucked it from his pocket, answering it without even looking at the caller-ID. "'Ello?"

"Hey, Joey!" a female voice greeted on the other side. Joey grinned, and slid down the stair's railing the rest of the way.

"Hey Mai! What's up?"

"Ah, nothing much. I was just checking on you." Mai replied nonchalantly. Joey snickered, and landed on his feet after the rail-ride ended.

"Aw, really? That's so sweet of ya!" he joked. He heard Mai huff.

"Well, I mean it! Anyway, what are you doing today?" she asked. Joey couldn't hide his grin.

"Meetin' someone at the park." he said, unable to hide the happiness in his tone. Mai let out a suspicious "hmm".

"Who're you meeting?"

"Someone." Joey teased.

"Is it a date or something?"

Joey blushed, and scratched his cheek nervously. He, however, grinned.

"If you'd like to call it that…" he trailed off. He actually didn't mind his meeting with Bakura being called a date, really.

"With who!" Mai asked, a bit of envy in her tone. Joey chuckled. He had to turn Mai down long ago when he discovered he didn't like girls in that way.

"Guess." _You never will._

"Yami? Yugi?"

At this, Joey laughed loudly. "Not even _close_!"

"Tristan?"

"…Are you feelin' alright, Mai?" Joey asked, a bit frightened at the thought of going on a date with his best friend. Mai laughed.

"I'm fine. Well, is it that Duke kid?" she asked. Joey thought for a minute.

"No, but now that you mention him I haven't seen 'im lately…"

"Maybe he got a life. Who knows?"

Joey laughed. "Well, keep guessin'. You're never gonna get it right."

* * *

"Bakura, where are you in such a rush to?" Ryou asked, cocking his head to the side. Bakura stumbled a bit, running around the living room frantically. 

"P-park!" he huffed. Ryou blinked.

"The park? Why on Earth are you going there?"

Bakura halted, thinking over his answer. "I'm…meeting someone there." Ryou smiled, and clapped his hands together.

"You're going on a date?" he gasped, his face aglow. Bakura's eye twitched.

"No…" he trailed off. That idea was going a bit too fast for him, but he didn't mind it as much as he thought he would. Ryou's face became quizzical again.

"Well, who are you meeting?" he asked.

"No one." Bakura answered quickly. Maybe too quickly…that look on Ryou's face was scaring him a bit.

"Really?" Ryou said, crossing his arms and smirking. Yes, smirking. That's what scared Bakura.

"Yes, now I'll be off."

With that Bakura rushed to the door, a light blush coming to his cheeks. He barely heard Ryou shouting that he had forgotten his pants…

* * *

"Bye Mai." 

Joey hung up his phone, putting it back in his pocket and sitting on the bench. He looked around, searching for a certain yami. Maybe he should've specified a spot last night…then again, Bakura would find him no matter what; he had the Millennium Ring, after all. He started humming, somehow not finding all the memories of Bakura so horrifying now. He guessed that when you got to know him, he wasn't so bad. Though, it seemed that you had to be permitted to get close to him. Joey wasn't sure if Bakura had only let him get near him because he was tired, however. The yami was suspicious about close to everything, from the ice-cream man to a German Shepard. Joey chuckled. Bakura didn't like not knowing another's intentions very much.

He stopped and looked up at the sky.

How could he notice so much about a man he just now got to know? An evil man, at that. How? What was it about Bakura that made him notice every little thing about him? What was it about him that made him so fidgety at the thought of seeing him again? What was it about him that seemed so wrong, yet so right? Joey sighed again. Asking himself questions wasn't going to solve anything. He looked to the right, not exactly sure why. He was glad he did, though.

Bakura was running towards him, his eyes dead-set on Joey. Joey smiled, and blushed lightly when Bakura grinned and winked back. When he reached the bench, Bakura plopped down next to Joey, taking a quick breather. Joey chuckled.

"Hey there." he greeted. Bakura grinned wider.

"Hey there to you, too."

Joey laughed softly again, and leant back against the bench. "How's your day so far?" he asked. Bakura chuckled, a bit nervously, Joey noticed.

"Well, this is the best part so far," he said, making Joey blush, "but morning was a bitch." Joey laughed.

"What happened?" he asked. Bakura sighed, leaning back as well and propping his arms up on the bench's back-support.

"Well, I almost left without any pants, for one thing." he admitted. Joey laughed harder. Bakura glared at him, giving him a light smack on his head. "Anyway, Marik came over when I woke up…so…yeah…that was Hell." Joey blinked at him.

"You never did tell me what happened with you and Marik." he said, leaving a hint in his voice for Bakura to tell him. Bakura groaned, his head falling back and the long locks of ivory hair drifting downwards to the ground.

"Ryou gave up on trying to get it out of me. You should too." he muttered, closing his eyes. Joey grinned.

"Well, too bad for you because I'm stubborn. Now tell me." he said, nudging Bakura's side. He took note of how that muscle twitched beneath the tight black shirt whenever he touched it. Bakura's mouth twitched as well when he did that.

"No. It's nothing." he said, turning his head away from Joey. "Nothing at all…"

"Don't sound like nothing."

Bakura snapped his head back to Joey, glaring. "Do you _really_ want to know?"

Joey grinned even though Bakura was trying to threaten him. "Yeah." He had been right, judging from the disappointed look on Bakura's face.

"…What's it to you, anyway?" Bakura muttered darkly, closing his eyes and tilting his head back with his face to the sky. Joey smiled, and nudged Bakura's side again, watching the twitches that took place.

"It depends on what it is. If it's really nothing, it'll be nothing to me. If it's something, then it'll be something to me." he explained. Bakura was silent for a while. His crimson eyes opened, and they stared wonderingly up at the clouds with a look of contemplation and hurt deep inside the ruby pools. Joey's eyes glistened with pity, yet the comforting smile stayed on his face. "You can tell me, Bakura. We're friends, right?" His words came out soothingly, and he could see them affecting Bakura through his eyes. Bakura sighed, and sat up, leaning over with his elbows on his knees, his chin rested on his hands. Joey smiled still, his hand now on Bakura's back. Bakura smirked a bit.

"Fine. But not now." he finally said. Joey sighed, but shrugged and smiled.

"Works for me. Now, have you ea—"

"No. You?"

Joey blinked and grinned goofily. "Nope!"

Bakura chuckled, and stood up. "Where do you wanna go?"

Joey stood up after him, grinning at how much taller he was, even if not a whole lot. "Anywhere."

Bakura's eye twitched. "Thanks for the suggestion." he muttered. "Well, what do you feel like eating?" Joey blinked. Bakura gave him a puzzled look. "What?"

"Dude…I'll eat anything."

Bakura blinked this time. "Oh…well…then…how about some steak?"

Joey practically leapt in the air from joy alone. "Let's go!" He grabbed Bakura's wrist and ran off, dragging the albino behind him. Bakura had no trouble keeping up, but he did have trouble understanding why Joey's touch made his heart skip a beat. It did yesterday and today it was only stronger. Bakura didn't like it much when Joey's grip loosened, and his hand flicked up to grasp Joey's wrist automatically. If Joey had been confused at Bakura's actions, he most certainly didn't show it. Bakura was surprised at what his hand had done, but thanked it when Joey grabbed his hand, curling his fingers around his palm and hooking his thumb with his.


	5. CH4: Set Me Free

**A/N:** Very long chappie. Six MS Word pages. It's a song-chappie with "You Set Me Free" by Michelle Branch. Sorry for any OOC-ness that bothers you. To be truthful, the end was hard to write >>

**Disclaimer:** Dun own YGO or Michelle Branch. "You Set Me Free" is Track 4 on her "The Spirit Room" CD.

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* * *

Chapter 4: Set Me Free**

"We could've taken a damn taxi, you idiot." Bakura huffed, leaning against the outside wall of the steakhouse. Joey grinned, panting hard as well.

"Aw, c'mon, Bakura!" he said weakly, bending over. Bakura glared.

"What, do you _like_ seeing me worn-out?" he asked cynically. Joey blushed, not answering. He glanced at Bakura, actually finding how attractive he was when he sweated and breathed hard and looked vulnerable and—

_Shut up!_ A voice seemed to yell inside Joey's head. He blushed harder, catching Bakura's attention. Bakura swallowed his breath, and panted again.

"You really do?" he asked, surprised. Joey heard disgust in his tone as well and wanted badly to whimper in protest. He shook his head instead. "Well, that's good. I was a bit worried there." Bakura admitted, a small blush coming to his cheeks.

_Can't you see?  
There's a feeling that's come over me  
Close my eyes  
You're the only one that leaves me  
Completely breathless_

Joey stood straight up, embarrassed. "Well, you don't needa be worn-out to look good…" he muttered, and grabbed Bakura's wrist again. Bakura, like before, didn't protest to this at all. He still wondered why he had grabbed the albino's hand earlier. It just…happened. And he had liked it. He loved it when Bakura had gripped back. Joey smiled, and opened the door, leading Bakura to walk in first. Bakura didn't understand why people would hold the door open for other people they didn't know or tell them to go in before them. It didn't make any sense. But he followed along with it, watching as Joey held the door open for a young couple exiting the restaurant.

Bakura stared at the couple as they had past. The girl was giggling like mad and the boy had been smiling, holding his girlfriend closer. They had cuddle-walked, as Bakura now named it, as they left the restaurant after thanking Joey. The girl had been leaning against the guy's shoulder, getting as close as she could to him. The boy had his arm protectively around her waist, smiling at her lovingly and kissing her head. Bakura usually would have been completely sickened by this, but now he had actually felt…_jealous_ of how happy the couple was. Well, how happy they seemed, at least. For all he knew the boyfriend could have been abusive at night and loving during the day. You never knew with humans these days, really.

_No need to wonder why  
Sometimes a gift like this you can't deny_

"Joey…why'd you hold that door open for them?" Bakura asked, looking up into deep brown eyes. Joey looked back into his crimson eyes, and smiled.

"It's polite and common courtesy." he said, tugging on Bakura's arm by his wrist. Bakura complied, walking along next to Joey.

"Why?" he asked. Joey blinked at him.

"I don't know, really. I guess it's polite because it's, well, polite to not make people push open doors when you can hold it yourself." he reasoned, smiling yet again. As he talked to the waitress, Bakura thought about what he said. When they had been seated and strangely looked at, he cocked his head to the side a bit.

"So…holding doors for people is the right thing to do?" he asked. Joey chuckled.

"You're curious. Well, I don't know if it's the _right_ thing to do, but it's the polite thing." he explained.

"How come you don't know if it's right or not?" Bakura asked. Joey sighed, putting his face in his hands. He looked up, a wide grin on his face.

"Who knows for sure what's right and what's wrong, Bakura?" he asked. Bakura didn't reply, and looked at the table's surface. It was now that he noticed that a song had been playing in the noisy restaurant.

"'_Cause I wanted to fly  
So you gave me your wings  
And time held its breath so I could see, yeah  
And you set me free"_

Bakura looked up a bit, searching for the source of the woman's voice. Joey noticed, and put his hand on Bakura's. Bakura jumped a bit, and looked back at the blond. He couldn't speak as he gazed into Joey's caring face, his brown eyes sparkling and his perfect lips parted just a bit, strands of his dirty blond hair falling into his face.

"_There's a will, there's a way  
Sometimes words just can't explain"_

"Bakura…what's wrong?" Joey asked. Bakura's eyes had been flickering in every direction, as if inspecting something thoroughly. Bakura shook his head a bit.

"Nothing. Why?"

"You've been looking around as if you're expecting a guy with a hockey mask and butcher knife to just pop outta nowhere."

Bakura blinked. "I was just trying to figure out where that music's coming from." he said, pointing up towards the ceiling with his other hand. Joey chuckled.

"It's coming from speakers around the place. Don't worry about it." he said, giving the pale hand a quick squeeze. Bakura blushed lightly.

"Okay…" he muttered. _Why am I like this!_

"_This is real, I'm afraid  
I guess this time there's just no hiding, fighting  
You make me restless"_

Eventually, they ordered their drinks and food, both getting inhumanly large amounts of it.

" 'As raw as I can legally get it'?" Joey asked, snickering. Bakura rolled his eyes, leaning back.

"Whaat? I like raw meat and Ryou told me that I can't order meat raw because the restaurants aren't allowed to serve it raw!" he protested. Joey laughed.

"You're so weird, Bakura."

"Hey, you're the one who ordered dessert _then_ lunch _then_ an appetizer!"

"So? You ordered practically all the meat they have!"

"I can't help it if I'm some blood-craving lunatic carnivore, now can I?"

"And I can't help it if I like to order dessert before lunch."

"Touché."

And then they laughed heartily, gaining even more odd looks.

* * *

"Hoo boy, am I stuffed!" Joey announced, patting his stomach as he slouched in his seat. Bakura chuckled, using a toothpick to clean out between his fangs. He sat a bit sideways, his legs crossed and his arm rested on the table. Plates were stacked in front of them, a few of them completely devoid of any sort of food. 

"Same here, pup." Bakura agreed. As the word 'pup' came from his lips, the plates were pushed aside and he now saw Joey's face flushed with both anger and embarrassment.

"What'd you call me!" he asked loudly. Bakura blinked, and went back to picking his teeth.

"Pup. What, doesn't everyone call you a dog?" he asked, cocking an eyebrow.

"No." Joey growled. Bakura's face became more quizzical.

"Really? Kaiba does." he said. Joey flinched. "I'm confused here. I would think that if an apathetic jerk like Kaiba would call you by a nickname it must be used around him a lot or something." Joey stared at Bakura, his face now completely blank while Bakura's was questioning and serious.

"Wait…so you think…that the whole 'dog' thing…"

"I just figured it was what your idiotic friends called you and they only stopped because Kaiba started to. To me, he doesn't seem like one to just go out and give someone little pet names at random." Joey's jaw dropped. Bakura tilted his head to the side. "Am I wrong?" he asked. Joey nodded vigorously.

"Kaiba just started calling me a dog and a mutt to get on my nerves. That's all it was but then he started making wise-ass jokes about it." he said, looking down and leaning back again. Bakura narrowed his eyes at the table across the aisle.

"Sounds to me like he's got some damn crush on you." he growled. He wasn't exactly sure _why_ he was growling, but to him it felt right with the topic he was bringing out. He didn't see Joey blush or the embarrassment on his face, only the random mental image of Seto Kaiba tied to a tree and being set on fire.

"N-n-no he d-doesn't…" Joey muttered. Bakura looked over at him.

"Why the stuttering?" he asked. Joey bit his lip.

"What makes you think he does?"

Bakura blinked, but answered anyway. "Well, calling you a dog just seems kinda kinky to me, really. Master and pet. Stuff like that. And he does that _all the time_ and he _never quits_ so that's just what I'm getting from it now that I know that he calls you that on his own." The ashes in his mind that used to be the CEO of Kaiba Corp. were now being burned yet again, this time drowned in gasoline first.

Joey blushed harder, and reached over to punch Bakura's arm. "Bakura…" he whined. Bakura looked in Joey's eyes, and asked solemnly:

"You don't like him…do you?"

_You're in my heart  
The only light that shines there  
In the dark_

Joey's face went entirely red. "Wh-what!"

Bakura looked down at his knees, leaving the toothpick in his mouth. "I asked if you like him." he said, this time more hesitantly. Joey didn't answer. For a long time.

"…Bakura…"

Bakura stood up abruptly, and stuffed his hands in his black cargo pants' pockets. "Tell them to put it on Bakura's tab." he said stiffly and walked quickly out the door, not offering any explanation for both Joey and himself.

* * *

It was raining. Pouring. He was running. Panting. Hurting. Lately he seemed to be running a lot. The reason mainly being for _him_. Bakura bit his lip. Why had he run out on Joey? Of _course_ he wouldn't like Kaiba in that way! He hated him! But…a voice in his head kept telling him that Joey didn't hate Kaiba at all…and…that voice was usually right…it always had been to his ears…that familiar voice… 

It was Marik's.

He felt as if his heart had been torn in two when he thought of the name. Just as he did, he slipped and fell, sliding along the wet cement. When he came to a stop, he didn't get up. The rain pounded mercilessly on his back, and he could felt the water seep into his shirt and pants, his body becoming cold. His hair stuck to his face, and he kept his forehead to the ground. He brought his arms closer to his head, slamming both fists to the ground. How could he be so stupid…?

"Bakura…you're an idiot." Bakura muttered. He pushed himself up, and sat on his knees, slumping forward a bit, his head hung low. His arms were lifeless at his side, and he tilted his head up towards the gray sky, not minding the water dripping quickly down on his pale face. "I hate you." he whispered. The words could be directed at anybody, from his life-long hatred of Yami to a one-second hatred to Ryou. But…right now…he was talking to the person he hated most in the world. Himself.

Bakura closed his eyes, and held his arms out to his side, taking in the drowning coldness of the beating down rain. He'd rather be with Joey, he had to admit, but right now he was trying to wash away the memories. So many of them…too many. Kul Elna…Marik…Joey…Mahaado…Ryou…Joey…the Pharaoh…Joey…Joey…Joey, Joey, JOEY, JOEY, _JOEY, JOEY, **JOEY, JOEY!**_

Bakura yelled out, catching some of the raindrops in his mouth. The one syllable echoed throughout the darkened area. His arms were still outstretched, and his head was now bent back. His white hair was pasted to his face, covering his eyes almost. He wanted to get away. He wanted to sprout wings and fly off into the distance. He wanted to be anywhere else but here. Well…he'd rather be with Joey, talking and laughing with him, but after that stupid thing he did he didn't expect Joey to take him back in so quickly. Who would?

'_Cause I wanted to fly  
So you gave me your wings  
And time held its breath so I could see, yeah  
And you set me free_

Bakura stopped screaming, and opened his eyes, staring at the sky. He had really screwed himself up this time, in his mind. He ran out on a "date" on the assumption that Joey had loved Kaiba and not him when that wasn't even supposed to be an issue, and now he was screaming in the rain, dwelling on his memories. He wasn't so screwed that he'd start crying, of course, but screwed enough that he had wanted to turn back time more than he ever had in his life. He was about to stand, but the arms-outstretched-and-kneeling position seemed more comfortable. His head was still bent back, his eyes now closed, and his mouth open just a little.

How peaceful he was at that moment.

"Bakura!"

How scared he was at this moment.

Bakura slowly opened his eyes, knowing exactly who had called out to him. He brought his head back up and let his arms fall to his sides. His head hung low again, his wet hair drifting in his wet face. He heard footsteps running, and then heard a fall. He became worried, but it vanished when that person had skidded towards him, grasping his shoulders from behind.

"Bakura...what…?" Joey whispered, putting his face in Bakura's wet shoulder. Bakura stared at his knees.

"…Joey…" he whispered. Joey nodded, and shifted himself so that he was on Bakura's right, but he kept his hold on the albino's shoulders.

"Bakura…what's wrong? Why'd ya run out like that?" Joey asked frantically. Bakura didn't answer, only slumped his shoulders and leant into Joey's hold. "Bakura…" With his index finger and thumb, Joey lifted Bakura's chin, forcing him to look him in the eye. Bakura dully obeyed, staring hopelessly into Joey's concerned eyes. "'Kura, tell me what's wrong."

Bakura closed his eyes. "I don't know what's going on…" he said softly. Joey brushed the hair from Bakura's face, wanting to look directly into the face of the man he had so unexpectedly and so suddenly wanted most in the world. He didn't know that Bakura needed him just as badly.

"Bakura, please. Please tell me what's wrong. I'll try to make it better, I promise. Just _please_ tell me what's wrong!" Joey pleaded, holding Bakura's face in his hands. Bakura slowly opened his eyes, and gave a rueful grin.

"You've done enough just being here with me right now."

_When I was alone  
You came around  
When I was down  
You pulled me through  
And there's nothing that  
I wouldn't do for you_

"Bakura…" Joey hushed, and leant down closer, parting his lips. Bakura closed his eyes again, tilting his head up.

"Joey…"

With their breaths dying in the air, their lips met.

'_Cause I wanted to fly  
So you gave me your wings  
And time held its breath so I could see, yeah_

Joey moved his thumbs along Bakura's cheeks, bending his palms back to make Bakura's head lift farther up. He felt Bakura lean into the kiss, his hands resting on his shoulders. Joey's cheeks went red again, and he felt Bakura's go warm through the cold rain water splashing down on them. He caressed Bakura's face as he slowly broke the kiss, letting the pale lower lip slide between his pink ones. He gradually opened his eyes, welcomed with a sight he never thought he'd see…or would want to ever forget.

Bakura's eyes were still shut, his face turning a light pink. His lips were parted, and as they began to close, his eyelids began to lift. Crimson eyes bore through the darkness that the gray clouds had brought, entrancing Joey entirely. Bakura stared back, his face breaking down with confusion.

"Joey..." he started to whimper. Joey kissed him again, wanting to feel those soft lips against his again. Bakura didn't hesitate to respond, sliding his arms around Joey's neck, wrapping them in an 'X' across the back of his head, grasping on tightly. Joey slipped his arms around Bakura's waist, pulling them closer together. They didn't go further than just a little tongue, but it was enough for them both to feel light-headed.

'_Cause I wanted to fly  
So you gave me your wings  
And time held its breath so I could see, yeah_

Bakura stared at Joey, seeing something new in his eyes. He couldn't tell what it was. When he could usually read people's expressions like Ancient Egyptian text, he could barely make out the emotion in those glorious brown eyes staring back at him. He whispered the blonde's name again, and lunged forward, catching him in a hug. He buried his face in Joey's wet shoulder, holding onto him for dear life.

"Bakura…is…is this why—"

Bakura kissed him this time, the purpose mainly being to shut him up. It worked, but this kiss didn't last long. "I didn't know why at the time." Bakura said, looking Joey in the eye. "But now…now I think I do."

Joey smiled at him, hugging him. "Bakura…what can I do for you?" he asked, kissing Bakura's ear. "Another date?"

_And you—_

"_Set me free._" Bakura whispered, and went limp against Joey, giving into all his exhaustion and fatigue.


	6. CH5: Cafe

**A/N:** Nii...I don't have much to say. Marik's gonna be a sad little yami so...yeah...nii...

**Disclaimer:** All I own is the cafe waitress girl.

**

* * *

Chapter 5: Café**

"Coming!" Ryou called. He removed his apron and hung it up, trotting to the door. He knew that Bakura would be coming home soon complaining about the rain, so maybe the ringer of the doorbell had been him. Ryou unlocked the door, opening it with a wide bright smile. Standing there with an umbrella was a teen a few inches taller than Ryou, a nice smile on his face as well who _definitely_ was not Bakura.

"I thought it'd be nice if we took a walk." he offered simply, green eyes sparkling. Ryou gasped a bit, blushing. He giggled, however, and tugged on his boyfriend's arm.

"But it's raining!" he said, trying to pull him into the apartment. The raven-haired teen just laughed.

"That's the point!" he said excitedly, pulling his arm back to bring Ryou closer. Ryou giggled again, and hugged Duke tightly.

"Duke, you're so strange…" he murmured, snuggling up to the game maker. Duke just grinned and kissed Ryou's head.

"But you love me. And since you love me, you'll come for a walk in the rain with me." he stated eagerly. Ryou sighed, pulling away.

"Fine. Let me go get my coat." he said, giving up and running to his room. Duke smiled, waiting for his white-haired angel to return.

* * *

"Dammit, Bakura. You're heavy for a scrawny guy." Joey mock-complained as he glanced down at the albino in his arms. Bakura, more asleep than awake, tiredly stuck his tongue out. He was soaking wet and being carried...at the same time. That was _not_ a very good combination for him. He had one arm loosely around Joey's neck, the other resting on his stomach area. They both gained the same looks as they had at the restaurant, but this time there was more staring than just a bunch of quick look-overs. Bakura badly wanted to growl and snap at the nosy idiots, but at the moment was too worn-out to do anything. 

"Then why're you carrying me?" he muttered. Joey grinned.

"Cuz I wanna." he said. Bakura sighed, relaxing more in Joey's arms. When Joey had first picked him up like this, he had a flashback of him and Marik, but stopped fidgeting only when he realized being carried by Joey felt more okay than by Marik. The memory hurt him, but he concluded that it probably hurt Marik more from his actions that morning. He sighed, resting his cheek against his arm. "So…about you and Marik…"

Ah, perfect timing.

"What about me and that psychotic bastard?" Bakura questioned back bitterly. Hey, he held grudges, okay?

"I mean…whenever I bring him up you get all stiff and cold and bitter. And yesterday you wanted to completely avoid the topic. What'd he do to ya?" Joey inquired, looking down at Bakura worriedly. Bakura stared back up, and turned his head sharply to the side, sending little droplets of water from his hair to the puddle-mottled ground.

"Nothing of your concern." he muttered. Joey slowed down to nuzzle his nose in Bakura's wet hair.

"If it's about you it's definitely my concern." he replied softly. Bakura couldn't help the small blush that came to his cheeks. "Plus ya told me you'd tell me at the park. Remember?" Joey added, grinning. Bakura groaned, falling limper in Joey's arms, hanging his head back and dangling his arm dramatically.

"But Joey!" he whined. That's right. The Great Thief King Bakura just whined like a child. Joey chuckled, picking up speed when he spotted a small café.

"No buts, Bakura. You _are_ gonna tell me what happened between you and Marik. Even if it means kissing you in that café right up there."

Bakura blushed again. They hadn't mentioned that little, ahem, event since it, well, happened. He grumbled a 'fine' and returned to the position he was in before his Drama Queen act. He looked at the café, and his face dropped and paled of all blood.

* * *

Marik had had absolutely no intention leaving the house after that morning's 'activities'. But, seeing as he was staring hopelessly into a Mocha, had done so anyway. Okay…so grabbing Bakura and trying to make out with him for everyone to see wasn't a very good way of showing his love for the yami. He cursed himself each time he thought of it. Those sinfully tender lips…that wet, slippery tongue…the strong pale body writhing beneath him…the look in those gleaming, heart-shattering ruby red eyes… 

He sighed, taking one long gulp of his coffee. The waitress looked on, pitying the Egyptian from afar. That had been the fifth coffee-like drink in one hour's time. She even remembered him muttering, "Why'd I order this? I hate this stuff…" a few times.

_Poor guy. Must've got dumped by his girlfriend._ She thought sympathetically.

Marik nibbled on the foam cup. He was going to leave in a second, but he just wanted to see if the rain would pass in that second. It didn't, and he sighed mournfully, snatching his umbrella and standing up. He nodded a thanks to the waitress and walked out, throwing the cup in the trashcan. He opened his umbrella as he opened the door, taking a step to the left before stalking on home.

He failed to notice the pair of wide, blank crimson eyes staring at him along with a scared brown pair.

* * *

Bakura's breath hitched in his throat as he watched the other yami walk in the direction he and Joey were walking…or, rather, Joey was walking. Joey's jaw dropped, and Bakura had to close it for him when it looked too much like ogling for him to stand. The blond blushed at Bakura's actions, grinning goofily. Bakura sighed, and looked at the ground, raindrops still splattering down upon it. 

"You can put me down now." he said quietly. Joey didn't question the hushed tone, having a good guess why. He set Bakura down gently, blushing when his hand grazed over his butt. Bakura didn't seem to notice; he was only staring at Marik's back. Joey looked at Bakura, and 'innocently' brushed his hand against the tight ass again. Bakura, again, paid no heed. Joey inwardly grinned, doing this over and over again from pure curiosity alone.

Needless to say, they were getting very, _very_ strange looks now.

Just when Joey was thinking about groping the albino, Bakura looked over his shoulder, indifferent. Joey froze, suddenly very much scared.

"Joey…why the hell are you feeling me up?" he asked, narrowing his eyes. Joey blushed furiously, and stepped back, waving his hands frantically, his words coming out loud and incoherent. Bakura rolled his eyes, and grabbed Joey's hand. "C'mon."

With that, he dragged Joey inside.

* * *

Marik sighed again, waiting at the bus stop. He was thinking about Bakura again, telling himself that the yami was _not_ staring at him right this moment, no matter how much he wished it true. His ears twitched when he heard loud stammering, and his eyes widened a bit when he heard a familiar voice say, "C'mon." Marik turned his head in time to see a blond, whose name he remembered as 'Joey', being pulled into the café he had just left. He didn't get to see who was dragging him, and played back the scene in his mind. His eyes widened. 

There had been a death-white hand grasping Joey's.

Marik was just about to race back in, but the bus pulled up. He knew that there wouldn't be another one for an hour, and he particularly didn't like the rain. He smirked a little bit as he boarded the bus.

That was one of the many things he and Bakura had in common.

* * *

Joey shook his head wildly once they got in, sending water in all different directions. One direction happened to be in Bakura's face when said yami turned to face the blond at that exact time. He glared at Joey, who grinned at him again. Bakura sighed. 

"You're gonna wanna hit me for this, but, you _do_ act like a dog." he said bluntly. Joey growled. Before he could argue, Bakura gave him the 'shut up' look. "Don't argue. It'd be too big of a mood swing for me to handle right now."

"Mood swing?"

Bakura led Joey to a table and sat down, looking up at him. "Yes. First it was, 'Hey! Let's feel Bakura up!' and that'd be too weird to go straight to, 'He called me a dog! Oi!'." he explained. Joey blushed, not replying as he sat down in front of Bakura. "After I tell you about Marik and me, you tell me why you even _thought_ about doing that." Joey nodded, his face still red. "So, first off—"

"Would you two like some coffee? You look cold." a waitress asked kindly, smiling. Bakura noticed the pity in it. He shook his head and studied her while Joey ordered. She had violet eyes. Like Marik's, but girly and bright…actually, more like Malik's…only…no eye-liner…and more girly. He sighed when she left.

"What the hell was Marik thinking? He doesn't even like coffee…" he muttered. Joey looked at Bakura.

"I saw his face. He looked pretty down." he said. Bakura stared at the table top, sighing again.

"I'm just glad he didn't see us. That was _close_."

"Yeah."

"Here's your drink, sir." the waitress said, handing Joey his drink. Joey smiled.

"Thanks." he said, and looked back at Bakura. "So, what—"

"Um, I'm sorry, but, do you know that man that just left? I heard you two talking and I just thought it sounded like him…" the waitress asked shyly. Bakura looked at her, seeing the sadness in her eyes.

"…Yeah. We know 'im…" Bakura said softer than he was speaking earlier.

"Oh, really? Can you please tell me why he's so sad?"

Bakura and Joey stared at each other, and they sighed in unison.

"It's a long story. Don't bother with it." Bakura told her. She sighed, pouting a bit. Bakura was now convinced that if she were male and Egyptian, she'd be Malik.

"Okay. Just…just please make sure he's alright. It bothers me when people look so helpless and I can't do anything about it." she pleaded. Bakura had nothing to say to this. Joey, thankfully, did.

"Hey, no prob, miss!" he said, grinning his silly, trademark grin. The girl smiled, giving a small bow.

"Thank you. Coffee's on me!"

Joey smiled as she trotted off. "She was nice."

Bakura blinked slowly, and looked Joey in the eye. "She's a girl version of Ryou in her manners and a girl version of Malik in her looks." Joey stared at him.

"She doesn't look like Malik…" he trailed off. The girl had pale skin, shining lavender eyes, long black hair, and absolutely no eyeliner. Bakura shook his head.

"You've never seen him pout." At this, Joey snickered.

"Maybe I should hang out with you guys more. I'm already likin' you a lot." he said, winking. Bakura blushed a bit, and rapped his fingers on the table.

"Do you wanna hear about mine and Marik's ordeal or not?" he muttered. Joey nodded, staring at Bakura intently while he sipped whatever caffeinated drink he had gotten for free. Bakura sighed. "Okay, well, it all started at Battle City…"

* * *

The beats made by the rain on his umbrella soothed him as he strode down the sidewalk. He loved music, so the drumming sounds of the drops let him smirk just a little. Marik turned a corner, and came face to face with emerald eyes. The owner of them jumped back with a screech while the doe-eyed boy next to him giggled. Marik blinked. 

"Um…hey Ryou…" he greeted, cocking an eyebrow at the hikari's boyfriend. Ryou giggled again, bowing.

"Hello again, Marik." he said, smiling. Duke was now hiding behind Ryou.

"Some great protector you're being, Devlin." Marik noted. Duke glared, not straightening up at all.

"You're psycho!" he protested. Ryou sighed, smiling. Marik rolled his eyes.

"Duke, he's one of my best friends. You can come out now." he comforted. Duke thought about it and slowly came out from being incognito. Marik would have usually snickered and teased the game maker about this, but the sad frown was still set on his features. Ryou noticed and looked worriedly at Marik. "Marik, is it about this morning?"

Marik nodded a bit, and looked at the ground more than the couple. Duke, confused, looked between the two. Ryou put his hand on Marik's arm, smiling warmly up at him. Naturally, Duke got jealous and glared at Marik warningly.

"I'm not going to steal him away from you, Devlin. Don't worry." Marik's deep voice formed half-hearted words. Duke hmph'd while Ryou blushed and smiled at Duke. Said hikari looked at Marik again, squeezing his arm.

"Don't worry. You two will stop fighting soon." he said softly. Marik forced a smirk. Ryou had no idea what was _really_ going on…no clue at all…

"Yeah…one can hope…" Marik said in an equally tender tone. Ryou smiled, and let go of Marik's arm. Duke was wide eyed at the situation before him. Soon, Marik made his farewells and left Duke and Ryou alone again. Duke stared at Ryou.

"You guys tamed him." he said, awed. Ryou giggled, and kissed Duke's cheek.

"No we didn't. And if he was 'tamed', credit goes to Malik."

Duke chuckled, and kissed Ryou's lips. "Like your angelic presence didn't do a damn thing." he said sarcastically. Ryou smiled, blushing. He was used to Duke calling him his angel. Most of the time it was 'kitten', but angel worked, too.

"I wonder what Bakura's doing…" Ryou wondered once they had begun walking again. Duke shrugged, wrapping his arm around Ryou's tiny shoulders protectively.


	7. CH6: Somebody Someone

**A/N:** Not the best chapter I've done, but I hope it's good enough. I don't like the ending a whole lot...it bugs me.

**Disclaimer:** I dun own YGO, kay?

**

* * *

Chapter 6: Somebody Someone**

"—aaand then I tripped over you and fell flat on my face." Bakura finished, his hand rotating around as if to prove a point. Joey's jaw was dropped again. Bakura didn't give him close to any details of the kiss, but it pissed him off more than he thought it would. He barely noticed when Bakura's cold fingers gently tilted his jaw shut and lingered there before sliding gracefully away from his skin. "Watch it. A fly might decide to make your mouth its new home." Bakura said softly.

Joey shook his head a bit and grabbed Bakura's hand. Bakura looked at their hands blankly before staring into Joey's eyes. They were full of emotion like they always were, so the only thing that was surprising to him was that he couldn't pick out what each little emotion was. They all seemed to be jumbled together, as if each was trying to take over Joey's eyes. Bakura sighed, turning his head down and gripping Joey's hand back.

"What?" he asked. Joey didn't say anything. Instead, he took his other hand and caressed Bakura's cheek in his palm, guiding him to look up. Bakura obliged, staring with unreadable eyes. Joey leant in, his hand now under Bakura's chin. His eyes fluttered shut as he planted a small kiss on Bakura's lips. Bakura didn't respond to this, and Joey wasn't really expecting him to. When the blond broke away he didn't fail to notice the red line across Bakura's cheeks.

"And what happened this morning?" Joey asked as if nothing happened. Bakura gave him a little glare and slouched back in his seat, still holding Joey's hand.

"We just had an argument…" he said, looking off to the side. Joey sighed, and intertwined his fingers with Bakura's.

"Fine. Well, was he the one who made those bruises?" he asked, reaching over to tap Bakura's lips gently. Bakura blushed lightly as he nodded. They were almost gone, but he guessed Joey could still see them. Joey sighed and looked outside. "It's still raining…" he muttered. Bakura looked out as well.

"I hate the rain." he stated. Joey looked at him curiously.

"You do?" he asked. Bakura nodded.

"I don't know why. I just don't like it." he said, glaring at the rain. They sat in silence, neither speaking but both thinking. Bakura suddenly stood up, and let go of Joey's hand, speed walking to the door. Joey hastily followed, concerned for the yami. Bakura threw open the door and stomped out to the curb. He raised his head up and shut his eyes tight, screaming at the top of his lungs as the rain pounded down on him. Joey shoved open the door in time to hear what the screams were about.

"HEY! RAIN! I HATE YOU! GO AWAY! GET THE FUCK AWAY, YOU STUPID DROPS OF WATER! I HATE YOU! GO AWAY!" Bakura's voice echoed, turning just about every head around. As if to answer his complaint, a sudden rush of cold wind smashed into him while the skies roared viciously with a mighty, seemingly angry thunder. Bakura stumbled back, regaining his balance when the thunder and wind ceased. He blinked a few times, his face otherwise blank. Joey was gaping, torn between the urge to start rolling on the ground laughing or to go see if Bakura was alright.

Bakura smirked smugly, and moved his hand above his head as if removing a hat from his head. He rolled his arm downwards, bending low and letting his leg slide back. As he straightened up, he twirled his arm back up and made the gesture of replacing the 'hat' back upon his head. Joey grinned as Bakura gave a curt little nod, the smug look still set in place on his face, wide smirk and all.

"Dude…" he chuckled, trotting up to Bakura. "I think you pissed off the rain."

"Yep. And I'm damn proud of it." Bakura replied, jumping up a little as a small sign of excitement. Joey laughed, slinging an arm around Bakura's shoulders.

"You weirdo!"

"I'd prefer 'one gigantic heap of a psychotic mess', thank you very much."

Joey laughed again, and kissed Bakura's cheek. "Where to now, oh pisser-offer of the rain?" Bakura smirked.

"I dunno." he replied, leaning into Joey's hold as they started walking. He rubbed his head against Joey's chest much like a cat, closing his eyes. "Where do you wanna go? I'm free all day. Or at least until Ryou gets worried." Joey chuckled.

"Ya really care about 'im, don't ya?" he asked. Bakura nodded.

"He's my hikari. It's only natural, I guess." he said, giving a little shrug. Joey sighed, nuzzling his nose in Bakura's hair.

"Where do you think he's been goin' everyday?" he asked. Bakura grinned.

"I've got my ideas…"

"Like what?"

"He comes home smiling and giggling like an idiot nearly everyday. I'm sure you've got some ideas of your own now."

Joey thought for a moment, twisting his mouth to the side. Bakura sweatdropped, and sighed. To give Joey a hint, he kissed his cheek and ran his fingers up the blonde's spine. Joey shivered against Bakura's touch, and let out an 'oh!' in realization. "He's goin' out wit' someone!"

"Great job, Sherlock." Bakura muttered, resting his arm snug around Joey's waist. Joey grinned goofily, giving Bakura a loving smooch on his head.

"Hey, I'm not the sharpest tool in the farm." he said. Bakura sighed again, shaking his head and grinning.

"Sharpest tool in the _shed_, Joey." he corrected. Joey blinked.

"Well…I'm blond."

"Really? Couldn't tell."

"Bakura!" Joey whined. Bakura chuckled, tightening his grip around Joey.

"You know, hearing you say my name like that is really—" he started, but stopped himself, blushing. Joey blushed as well, looking at his feet. "Um, well, I mean, it just, um, uh, I-I..."

"I-it don't matter." Joey interrupted. Bakura let out a small groan, shutting his mouth. He thought for a moment, and glared up at Joey. "Hm?" Joey asked, confused at the sudden death glare.

"Why the hell were you feeling me up earlier?" Bakura asked dangerously. Joey blushed and his voice got stuck in his throat. He let out a few embarrassed choking noises, looking around frantically. Bakura kept glaring, his red eyes flashing evilly. "Well?" he inquired.

"Well, um, y'see, uh…" Joey stammered. He halted to a stop, turned Bakura around and kissed him deeply. Bakura's eyes widened, and the next thing he knew Joey whipped out a fast "Gottagoseeya!" and was now racing down the sidewalk. He stood there dazed, and when he snapped out of it, he growled.

"Hey!" he yelled. He took off after Joey, glaring at his back. When Joey looked over his shoulder at him, he got a scared look in his eyes and ran faster.

"Ack! Bakura!"

"That's right! Run, you baka! Run!"

Bakura chased Joey for a long time, and eventually caught up enough with him to begin calculating when to catch the blond. They came back to the park, sprinting across the wet grass. Bakura sped up, using the last of his energy to ready his legs after a quick pause at Joey's heel. With a final push, he leapt forward, thrusting his arms around Joey's waist and hugging onto him tight.

"Gotcha, you little—" Bakura shouted, but stopped when he realized he was currently tackling Joey to the ground. Joey let out a surprised cry as he fell, grunting loudly as he hit the ground and as Bakura fell hard on him. They both moaned from the impact, staying still from shock and air loss. Bakura was the first to come to, and sat up, straddling Joey's hips. "You ain't goin' nowhere." he growled, huffing.

Joey was breathing hard, letting out small little moans from the tackle. "Bakura…" he panted. Bakura blushed. Joey's eyes were shut and his soft lips were parted just enough to let the little moans and groans and gasps of breath come in and out. Sweat was dripping down from his forehead while a flush of exhaustion took over his cheeks. He was gripping the ground as if it were a lifeline. "Good kami, Bakura…" Joey gasped. Bakura yelled at himself in his mind when he felt himself start to go hard, forcing it down the best he could.

"It's Ra, for one thing." he said, poking Joey between his shoulder blades. "And the other thing is that you have to tell me what you were thinking earlier." Joey clenched his jaw, and groaned again.

"Mind gettin' off of me? It's kinda hard t' talk about that when you're…there…" he strained, blushing. Bakura paused, and put his hands on Joey's shoulders, using them to help himself crawl off of Joey. Joey struggled to sit up, and only did so when Bakura helped pick him up. He took a quick breather, and looked at Bakura.

"Spill it." the albino ordered. Joey chuckled at Bakura's tone, and slumped forward, his head nearly touching Bakura's chest. Bakura held onto his shoulders, helping him stay up. "Well?"

"Okay, first, I wasn't feeling you up." Joey started when he sat up straight. Bakura snorted.

"Suuuuure you weren't."

"Really!"

"Then what do you call rubbing my ass, then?"

Joey pouted, and smacked Bakura's hand. "Numba two, it was only from curiosity."

"Curiosity of _what_?"

"How long it would take for you to notice. Now shush." Joey told him, waving his hand. Bakura growled, but Joey ignored it. "Third, it was your fault for even letting me 'feel you up', as you so put it." Bakura didn't respond, knowing fare well that Joey was right. He sulked and crossed his arms, looking over to the side, mumbling incoherently. Joey grinned proudly, crossing his own arms. "And I must comment on how tempting it is to grope you, Bakura."

Bakura blushed, flicking his eyes to look at Joey. "What, did you enjoy it?" Joey shrugged, grinning a bit less.

"I dunno. I've never touched a man's butt."

"Well you sure did a hellouva lot of it for your first time."

"Hey! It was curiosity!"

"And curiosity killed the cat. Or, in this case, the dog."

"Bakura! Kisama!"

Bakura snickered. "Now I see the enjoyment Kaiba gets in this. You're so cute when you're angry and flustered!"

Joey blushed. Did Bakura just call him _cute_? "Th-thanks…I think…" Bakura grinned, and got on his knees, leaning over to Joey.

"It's true." he hushed, getting nearer. Joey blushed more, and discovered that his heart rate increased as Bakura put his hands on each side of him, still drifting closer.

"N-no it ain't!" Joey argued. Bakura chuckled. He tilted his head to the side a bit, staring Joey in the eyes and smirking. Joey found himself yearning for the yami, and urged for him to just come closer…

"Who says?" Bakura asked, his husky voice suddenly becoming a drug to Joey's mind. Joey didn't reply, only watched as Bakura got nearer. Bakura grinned, and stopped moving when he was just an inch or so away from Joey's face. "'Cause I say you're cute when angry, adorable when pouting, and absolutely tempting," he whispered, his breath tickling Joey's face and teasing his parted lips, "when vulnerable in my control." With that, Bakura rested his lips on Joey's, kissing him harder when Joey opened his mouth a little bit from shock.

His tongue licked Joey's bottom lip, asking for entrance in. Joey hesitantly widened his mouth, grateful when Bakura's wet tongue plunged in, swirling inside his mouth. He let out soft moans into the kiss, now holding the back of Bakura's head with one hand, deepening it. Bakura pressed himself onto Joey, taking advantage of his parting legs. His heart raced, beating faster with anticipation. The kiss soon became more heated and passionate, both tongues dancing and both heads swerving in sync with each other. Joey soon had both hands grasping Bakura's white hair, feeling himself being pushed down to the wet grass.

Bakura now lay between Joey's legs, their lower parts touching and their lips fighting one-on-one. He could feel Joey getting hard, but wouldn't allow himself to do the same. Their breath shot in and out of their noses, neither wanting to break the kiss to take in much needed air. Bakura's slender fingers ran through Joey's hair, rubbing the side of his head and scalp. Joey's gentle moans started to turn him on, he finding it harder to control his hormones. At long, unwanted last, they became desperate to breathe, and broke the kiss, breathing hard.

Joey's eyes were shut tight, his head tilted back and his diaphragm rising and falling quickly. His cheeks were flushed, and his pants suddenly felt too tight. Bakura was in slightly better condition. His eyes were barely open and his breathing wasn't as hurried as Joey's. He had held back a bigger hard-on, and he knew he would regret that sooner or later. Both teens locked eyes when they at least opened half-way, and both grinned nervously.

"Holy crap…" Joey breathed, still panting. Bakura chuckled, and leant down for another kiss, too tired to have another make-out session. Joey barely had enough energy to spare to return the kiss.

"Y-yeah…heh heh…" Bakura replied. Joey moaned when the yami shifted between his legs, blushing intensely because of it. Bakura didn't seem to notice at first, but the sly smirk on his face proved otherwise. "Hey…Joey…"

Joey blinked and panted a bit more. "Yeah…?" Bakura's grin wasn't looking too innocent right now…

"Say my name."

Joey was confused. "Wh…what?"

"Say my name." Bakura repeated. Joey shrugged a bit.

"Bakura…" he breathed. He heard how vulnerable and needy he sounded, and blushed madly as Bakura's grin grew.

"Again..." Bakura whispered, moving his hips against Joey's.

"Ohh, Bakura…" Joey moaned, clutching Bakura's hair. Bakura's grin turned more cat-like, and he lowered his head down to Joey's ear.

"I _love_ it when you say my name like that."

Joey blushed harder, and hugged Bakura's neck, nuzzling his face in his neck. "Bakura…don't go…" Bakura's face softened and he kissed Joey's ear.

"Why would I?" he hushed. Joey smiled, and kissed Bakura's wet cheek. He closed his eyes as he laid his head on the ground, the rain still pouring. Joey sniffled, and let out a small sneeze. "You really pissed off that rain, 'Kura."

Bakura chuckled and rolled off of Joey, lying next to him. "Yeah, I did, didn't I?" he said. Joey laughed.

"Man…I don't wanna go home…"

"Then don't. You can stay with me." Bakura offered, grasping Joey's hand. Joey sighed, his eyes still closed.

"Can't. My old man wants me to come meet his new girl. Says she's different." he said. "I don't see how, though. Each woman leaves him within a week or less." Bakura looked over at Joey and pecked his cheek.

"He hurts you, doesn't he?" he asked, concerned. Joey stared at him before his eyes saddened.

"I'm used t' it. He's a drunk. He doesn't know what the fuck he's doin'." he said. Bakura growled.

"If he ever lays a hurtful finger on you, you come to me immediately. No buts about it." he told him. Joey smiled.

"Alright. I will." he promised. Bakura smirked.

"Good." he said. Silence passed, the only sound being the rain falling. Bakura shivered, the cold finally getting to him. He didn't get sick easily, so he didn't worry too much about it. Joey, however, he did worry about. He was sniffling a bit more after that sneeze. Bakura turned a bit on his side, reaching his arms out over Joey. Before he could fully wrap his arms around him, Joey did the same as him and took him in his arms.

"You look cold, 'Kura. You're shivering." he said, hugging him tight. Bakura's eyes were wide.

"Joey…" he muttered. He wiggled from Joey's grasp, sitting up. Joey looked at Bakura, confused.

"Bakura?"

Bakura pulled him up, taking him in his arms. "Joey, I hate to do this, but I need to take you home." he said regretfully. Joey blinked and sneezed.

"Why?" he asked.

"You're getting sick, you idiot!"

"Oh…"

Bakura sighed and stood up, pulling Joey up with him. "C'mon." he said. Joey looked at Bakura and smiled, cuddling up to him. They 'cuddle-walked' back to Joey's, both of them shivering. When they got there Bakura hesitated to let go of Joey. He knew he had to, though… "Take care…I'll come by tomorrow to check on you." Joey smiled.

"Okay. See ya then." he said. He bent down just a little and kissed Bakura sweetly. "G'night, Bakura."

"Night. Remember what I said." Bakura replied. Joey nodded. His nose was very red, and his skin was paling from the rain. "Now go on before you get any sicker." Bakura told him, pushing him towards the stairs. Joey grinned.

"Thanks. I—" he said, but stopped himself. He smiled, and trotted up the stairs. When he got to his door, he waved down at Bakura. Bakura waved back, smirking. This time when Joey entered his apartment, a beer bottle didn't smash against the door, but a woman's voice greeted him kindly. Bakura smirked as Joey smiled, greeting the unseen woman back. He stared until the door shut, and started walking back to Ryou's apartment, shivering still.

He thought about Joey. Why had today gone so much like it had? The kissing, the hugging, the 'take care's, the everything! Bakura didn't know why it took only one day for him to feel so…_weird_ about Joey. His heart beat faster when he thought of him, and he wanted to be with him all the time. It was strange for the thief. He had never had such feelings for anyone…much less in just one day! Bakura sighed.

What was _wrong_ with him?

Was he just becoming soft? Why did Joey make him so happy? Why could he so easily kiss him and tease him like he had at the park? Why could he so easily laugh and almost smile at Joey's actions and words? What was it about the blond that made him wonder what love really was? And…what was Joey about to say when he left? "I—" what? What? He what?

Bakura racked his brain until he almost passed the apartment complex. He walked up the stairs, still in thought. Suddenly, when he reached the door, he let a smile escape. He was thinking about Joey's smiles and laughter. That natural silliness just made him happy. He could be so innocent…yet he wasn't. It was that innocence that tickled him. Joey wasn't as innocent as he seemed at times, but all the same.

When he got out his key, the door slammed open and a worried Ryou stood at its entrance. "Bakura! You're home! And soaking wet!" Ryou cried. He sprinted into the house, coming quickly back with a large amount of towels. Bakura took one, drying his hair, the smile still on his face. His hikari was innocent, too, but it was pure. He walked in the apartment, and was practically shoved to the bathroom where Ryou had turned on the bath for him. Bakura blinked.

"Ryou…"

"Warm bath, now! You'll catch a bloody cold, Bakura!" Ryou scolded from worry and concern alone. Bakura smirked widely at him, ruffling his hair.

"Okay, okay, hikari. You mind leaving?" he said. Ryou was confused at the near-smile, but blushed and hustled out of the bathroom.

"Gomen, Bakura!" Bakura heard from behind the closed door. He chuckled and undressed, slipping into the hot bath water. He lay back, sighing. His thoughts began to drift back to his and Joey's make-out session, and this time did not even try to stop his hard-on. He was a guy; it was natural for him to think of such things, right? Bakura grinned, savoring the memory of the sound of his name coming from Joey's sweet, addicting lips. He closed his eyes, just now thankful for the shelter he had from the beating down and freezing rain.

Bakura stared at the ceiling. Joey made him happy. And he could only hope Joey felt the same way about him. That need for the other. Bakura didn't like being dependent on one person all the time. Or, now at least, be dependent alone. He wanted someone to need him for who he was. To want him there with them. To, possibly, love him.

He was really wishing that Joey was that someone right now.

* * *

I'll update if I get two comments. I've got some of the next chappie written but i won't post it until that number reaches 6. Please? 


	8. CH7: Sick Puppy

**A/N:** Arg, bloody long-ass chappie XP And I'm not gonna be able to update for a week or so.

**Disclaimer:** Dun own YGO, sadly.

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* * *

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**Chapter 7: Sick Puppy**

"Bakura, you awake?"

Bakura groggily opened his eyes, blinking a few times to wake up. The first thing he saw was Ryou's blushing red face. He cocked an eyebrow. "Ryou…why are you blushing?" he asked. Ryou blushed harder and looked away, pointing down. Bakura looked, and blushed a bit as well. He was still in the tub, naked. But the embarrassing thing was not that he was naked (for they both had seen the other naked before), but that he was quite visibly "happy". He bent over, covering himself, blushing harder. "Oh…"

"U-um, y-you feel a-a-asleep..." Ryou said shyly. Bakura nodded.

"What time is it?" he asked.

"W-well, you s-sl-slept in there a-all night…so it's seven in the morning." Ryou replied, fidgeting still. Bakura sighed. He was hoping to have slept in his warm bed instead of staying in _more_ cold water.

"Okay. I need to go somewhere in a couple of hours." he said. Ryou flicked his eyes to his yami, still not looking at him fully.

"Where are you going _now_?" he asked. Bakura growled lightly.

"Why does it matter to you?"

"It's just odd of you to go somewhere and not tell me where you're going. Usually you never leave the house or go terrorize people or go to Marik's." Ryou said, not failing to notice the flinch Bakura made. "Speaking of which, what's going on between you two? Duke and I ran into him yesterday and he looked really, really sad." he asked, turning to Bakura completely. Bakura sighed.

"I don't wanna tell you, Ryou. Leave it at that." he said.

_It was hard enough telling Joey all that._ He thought. They sat in silence, and then Bakura realized something.

"Hey…why were _you_ out with _dice-boy_?" Ryou blushed madly, looking at his knees on which he was sitting. When he didn't answer, Bakura put the pieces together and grinned. "No way! You and Duke!" he shouted unnecessarily loud. Ryou's face became redder than a tomato and nodded. Bakura laughed and ruffled Ryou's hair. Ryou let out a small groan.

"Don't tell anyone, Bakura, please. Duke doesn't want anyone to know yet." he pleaded, looking Bakura in the eye. Bakura blinked.

"Why doesn't he?" he asked.

"There's something big going on with his company and he didn't want me in any danger from rival companies!" Ryou blurted, blushing. He then pouted. "But he always takes me out and stuff. So I'm not sure if that thing's over yet…" Bakura grinned.

"So that _is_ where you've been going?"

"Yes."

"Well then, I was right."

"What?"

"I had the suspicion you were going out with somebody. You kept coming home giggling and you were all happy and such." Bakura explained. Ryou blushed and smiled.

"You noticed?" he asked. Bakura blinked, and looked away.

"You're my hikari. Of course I damn well notice." he muttered, making circles in the cold water that was left with his claw of a fingernail. Ryou giggled, and hugged Bakura. Bakura stiffened.

"You've changed so much, Bakura." Ryou said, letting go of his yami. Bakura grumbled something. "Well, I'll leave you to get dressed and such. See you in a few minutes, Bakura." Bakura watched Ryou leave and shut the door, and he sat there, thinking. He wasn't sure if 'anyone' included Joey or not. He seemed a bit worried about Duke the other day, so maybe if he explained that to Ryou he could tell him…

But then that would mean explaining why he was even _with_ Joey all day. Shit. He wasn't exactly ready to tell Ryou about them two. Hell, he wasn't even sure if they were really going out! It didn't matter, really, because Bakura was going to tell Joey whether Ryou liked it or not, he decided.

He sighed, standing up and grabbing a towel. He needed to hurry if he wanted to take Joey to eat or something. Or maybe he could make something for him; like soup. He could make soup. It wasn't burn-to-a-crisp-able. Bakura hit his forehead after letting the bath water drain. He was becoming too damn soft. When back then he wouldn't have cared if Joey was ill, he was now thinking about fixing him soup. What had happened? Was it Ryou? Malik? Maybe even Marik? What had happened to him to make him so… caring? He couldn't figure it out.

Bakura shook his head, and wandered back into his room. He'd think about it later. He grabbed some clothes from his closet and the floor, slipping them on tiredly. He sauntered back out and to the kitchen, where Ryou was making breakfast. There was a large amount of bacon already cooked resting on paper towels to soak up grease on the table and he could still hear some sizzling. Bakura peeked in, watching Ryou scamper about. He smirked at the frilly apron he wore. Ryou could be such a girl at times.

Maybe that was one reason why he and Duke were together…they had that little fact in common.

Bakura shrugged a bit, and tapped Ryou on the shoulder. Ryou jumped, yelping. He spun around, shrieking, "Bakura!" Bakura laughed, ruffling Ryou's hair. Ryou pouted. "You know how much I don't like it when you sneak up on me like that."

"Which is exactly why I do it." Bakura answered, grinning. Ryou sighed.

"It's a wonder why you and Duke aren't friends. You two are so much alike it scares me at times." he said, turning back to his scrambling eggs. Bakura chuckled.

"Well maybe if you'd bring your boyfriend over we'd see if it worked out." he stated, walking back to the table to grab his favorite breakfast meat.

"I'll ask him if he wants to stay for dinner tonight." Ryou said. He looked over his shoulder at Bakura…who was stuffing his face with bacon. "You _are_ coming home tonight, right? You stayed out pretty late yesterday." Bakura looked up from his bacon-eating, and swallowed.

"I might. Depends on how long I stay at Jo—" he said, but stopped himself in mid-sentence. Ryou noticed, and looked at Bakura.

"Where?"

"N-nowhere."

"Bakura…"

"What!"

"You're hiding something."

Bakura gulped, staring at what was left of the bacon pile. "Wh-what makes you s-say that?" he stuttered. Ryou rolled his eyes and finished up his eggs, setting them on the table along with some toast, waffles and more bacon.

"You're stuttering and you _never_ do that, for one thing." he said, trotting off to get plates and silverware. "Two, I've also noticed you were in a very good mood last night and so far this morning. By now you would have yelled at me once for something." Bakura grabbed his things from Ryou's hands and started piling food on his plate.

"So? Besides, I'm wide awake. I yell at you only when I'm half-asleep." he lied, also choosing to not explain last night when he had arrived home. He was still tired from yesterday and no where near being wide-awake. Ryou rolled his eyes yet again, fixing his own plate as he sat down.

"Wide awake? Then explain why your eyes are drooping." he said, taking a bite of his eggs. Bakura blinked, finding that he had to force them back open.

"…Shut up."

"Where'd you go yesterday? Most surely you couldn't have done that much in the rain and at the park! And who did you see? You never told me." Ryou persisted, looking Bakura in the eye until said yami turned his head down.

"Why do you wanna know?" Bakura groaned, nibbling half-heartedly on a piece of bacon with some scrambled egg laid on top.

"I'm worried. And I'm curious." Ryou replied, pointing at Bakura with his fork. Bakura stuffed the rest of the bacon-with-eggs-on-top in his mouth, pouting a bit.

"…When I leave I _might_ tell you."

"You better."

"Is that a threat I detect, Ryou?"

"Depends on my mood when you leave."

"Ooo I'm soooo scared."

"You better be."

"…Ryou?"

"Yes?"

"Just _how_ long have you and Duke been dating?"

* * *

Joey sneezed for the tenth time that morning and rubbed his nose. He was seated upright in bed, a box of tissues handy on his bedside table. Whenever he was sick, he'd usually go to Yugi's or Tristan's because of his father. But his dad's new girlfriend stayed over, and was currently mothering him as if he were her own child. Joey was glad for the hospitality she was giving, but he really wanted Bakura next to him. He sighed, and sneezed again. 

"Which is that? The tenth or eleventh one?" Martha asked, smiling. Joey chuckled and sniffled.

"Eleventh." he said. Martha giggled and smiled. Joey was surprised at how nice the green-eyed brunette was. Usually the girls his dad brought home were either trashy or dumb or fake-nice. This one was smart, kind, funny, and overall, very tolerant of just about anything. Joey grinned and sneezed again. "Twelve."

Martha smiled again. "Here, I'll go get you some more soup. I'll be right back, Joey." she said softly and trotted out of his room. Joey nodded, and stared at the wall. Where was Bakura? He had said he'd come…

_Ding-dong!_

Joey jumped, and stared with large, excited eyes out his door. "I'll get it!" he heard Martha cry. He grinned, unaware that he was bouncing on his bed.

* * *

"Bye, Ryou." Bakura said, patting Ryou's fluffy white head. Ryou smiled and gave Bakura a little hug. 

"Aren't you going to tell me who you're in such a rush to see at nine o' clock in the morning?" he asked. Bakura groaned.

"Fine. I have to whisper it though." he muttered, a faint blush on his cheeks. Ryou clapped his hands, and leant towards Bakura. Bakura sighed, and whispered in Ryou's ear. Ryou blinked and then stared at Bakura, bewildered. Bakura blushed a bit harder and nodded, opening the door and walking out, leaving a confused hikari with a tiny little smile on his face standing behind the door.

Bakura took the bus instead of walking since he was still tired from yesterday. Before he had to walk everywhere, he had Marik or Malik take him places since he didn't really want a car or anything. But Malik was out of continent and he had currently distanced himself completely from Marik for obvious reasons. So, the bus it was.

When he was dropped off, he frowned. It was still a few minutes to Joey's. He let out a small sigh, and trekked down the side walk, glad he wore the long-sleeved Godsmack shirt he had stolen last week. He was still cold from yesterday's rain and sleeping in the bathtub. Truthfully, he never wanted to see water again.

Bakura went up the stairs of Joey's apartment complex, and stared at the door. Yup. It was the Wheeler's. He rapped lightly on the door and rang the door bell. He heard the same female voice from last night call out, "I'll get it!" The door opened and he was greeted with a woman with long, thick brown hair and kind green eyes. She jumped a bit when she saw Bakura, but smiled.

"Hello. This is the Wheeler residence. Can I help you, sir?" she asked. Bakura could hear nervousness in her voice and gave a slight nod.

"Joey's here, right?" he asked. The woman smiled and clapped her hands in a way that reminded Bakura of Ryou.

"Oh, you're a friend of his? He has a little cold and I think he could use your company. Come in, come in, mister…"

"Bakura."

"Welcome, Bakura!"

Bakura smirked and walked in, slipping off his shoes. The apartment smelt of alcohol, but there weren't many beer bottles on the floor. The shards that he had expected to be there from the day before weren't visible, either. "Um, where's Joey's ro—"

"Bakura!" a voice called from down the hall. Bakura grinned.

"Never mind." he said and speed-walked to Joey's room. He heard a sneeze, and walked in the room just as Joey was wiping his nose with a Kleenex. He made a 'tsk tsk' sound, waving his finger. "Aren't you glad I brought you home earlier than you wanted?" he asked. Joey laughed and spread his arms.

"Just c'mere, 'Kura." he said. Bakura sat on Joey's bed, instantly getting hugged by the blond. Bakura didn't respond much, only rested his head on Joey's shoulder.

"How are you?" he asked, pulling away. Joey sighed and smiled.

"Fine. Thirteen sneezes already." he said, grinning. Bakura chuckled.

"You're counting?"

"Martha encouraged it."

Bakura blinked. "Is she that woman?" he asked. Joey nodded.

"Yeah. She's dad's new girl. She's actually really nice." he said with his happy-go-lucky smile.

"She's been treating you okay?" Bakura asked. Joey chuckled, nodding.

"She's been great. Dad has too. He's out looking for a job right now." he said happily. Bakura smirked widely and kissed Joey softly.

"That's good." he said. Joey nodded, grinning.

"And I've also got a certain someone I'd like to go on a date with sometime." he hinted, looking at Bakura with a mischievous glint in his eyes. Bakura looked shocked for a moment, but chuckled.

"What if that certain someone doesn't know where to take _his_ certain someone?" he asked. Joey made a pondering 'hmm' sound.

"Well, my certain someone can take his certain someone _wherever_ he wants."

"And when is his certain someone going to feel better?"

"In a day or two."

"Yes!"

Joey laughed, hugging Bakura tight. They spent the rest of the hours talking and joking around until lunch came rolling around. Martha came in just when Bakura was done pecking Joey's cheek. They both froze when she arrived, not sure how she would take seeing some psychotic albino kissing her boyfriend's son. Luckily she didn't notice, and smiled her kind smile.

"It's lunch time!" she announced. Joey smiled while Bakura smirked, looking at each other in an unsaid victory. "What do you two want? We've got plenty of soup!" Martha said, laughing nervously. Bakura stood up.

"I'll make it for him." he said. Joey blushed a little, smiling. Bakura grinned back, and waltzed out into the hall, looking for the kitchen. He found it easily, and began to search through the pantries. When he opened one cabinet, he was taken aback to find it _full_ of soup cans. "Plenty of soup, indeed…" he muttered. He pulled out a few, reading each of the labels. It was only then he realized that he had no idea what Joey liked. Slightly embarrassed, he went back to Joey's room, peeking in.

Joey smiled warmly up at him. "Yes, Bakura?" he inquired.

Bakura blushed a little. "Umm…what kind of soup do you like?" he asked, looking down at his feet. He heard Joey make a giggling sound, smirking at how girly he had sounded.

"Chicken noodle." Joey replied. Martha giggled and walked out the room. Bakura took the chance when she wasn't looking to race in and give Joey a quick kiss on the lips, trotting back out smirking. He could just imagine the cute little blush on the blonde's face. When he stepped into the kitchen, he found Martha taking a couple of bowls from the dish washer, setting them on the counter side-by-side. She looked up as he came in, and smiled.

"I'm so glad he has friends like you, Bakura." she said, stepping away to go clean another part of the counter. Bakura didn't reply and walked to the soups that he had taken out, picking up the one he clearly remembered labeled 'Chicken Noodle' without looking at it. Thieves were special like that.

"I'm just glad I met him." he finally said, reading the directions carefully. He was banned from the microwave unless supervised. He was banned from the stove and oven completely. Bakura sighed, and put the tip of his thumb nail around the rim of the can, calculating how much pressure he needed. When he figured it out, he easily broke the aluminum, an indifferent expression on his face. He heard a yelp of utter shock next to him, and looked up to see Martha with a paled face.

"H-h-how d-did you d-_do­_ that!" she asked, gasping. Bakura shrugged.

"I dunno. I've always been strong, I guess." he said nonchalantly. Martha gulped and went back to nervously wiping the counter.

"I-I see…"

Bakura blinked for a moment, and then shrugged it off. Modern-day humans were strange. He dragged his nail along the inner rim, slicing off the top. He pulled the rest off when he could, preferring not to do anything to his well-grown claw. Grabbing a bowl, he re-read the instructions. "Um…I hate doing this, but can you help me?" he asked. Martha looked up, surprised again.

"Umm, sure…" she said. Bakura watched her pour the soup into the bowl and put it into the microwave. He stared as she pressed the numbered buttons, mesmerized when the inside lit up and the bowl began turning around while the machine hummed steadily. Martha noticed his dazed look and smiled. "You okay, Bakura?"

Bakura shook his head, shooing away the awe. "I'm fine. My hika—um, _brother_ doesn't let me use the microwave." he explained. Martha nodded and started helping him put up the unused cans. The only noise was the microwave's fan and the setting of cans on cabinet shelves for a while.

"Why did I buy so much soup?" Martha muttered. Bakura chuckled.

"My brother does that all the time. He buys these enormous amounts of food and most of the time we never eat it."

"Really? What about your parents?"

Bakura went silent, his arm pausing in mid-air with a soup can still in his grasp. "…Killed." he muttered, mainly thinking about his own parents instead of Ryou's. Martha gasped, almost dropping a can.

"Oh dear!"

"It's fine. We've been living like this for a long time." Bakura hastily said, not wanting to go into detail. Martha sighed sadly.

"I'm very sorry." she said. Bakura didn't reply, only finished up putting up the cans. He turned back to staring at the bowl of soup spin.

"You have no idea how much I've heard that in only a few months." he said almost as softly as he would speak to Joey. Martha looked at him with pity.

"Well…how did you meet Joey?" she asked, changing the subject. The microwave beeped a few times, causing Bakura to get startled and jump. Martha giggled, and took out the soup. "Just a little longer." she murmured, putting the bowl back in and resetting the microwave. Bakura glared at the machine and huffed.

"Well, it's embarrassing how we met as friends, but I've known him since my brother became friends with him." he responded to Martha's question. Martha smiled.

"What's your brother's name?"

"Ryou."

"That's a nice name. Do you have any other siblings?"

"…Amane."

"How old is she?"

"I forget sometimes how old she would be right now."

Martha stared blankly at him. "Did…she…"

"Yeah."

"Oh my God…" Martha gasped yet again. Bakura flinched. "What's wrong?"

"I'm big on the Egyptian gods." he said stiffly. Martha blinked for a moment. "Our dad loved Egypt."

"I see…I think…"

"It doesn't matter. And is the soup supposed to be doing that?" Bakura finished, pointing to the boiling soup. Martha gave a little squeal of surprise, and before she could get to the microwave, Bakura had already clicked open the white microwave door and taken it out with his bare hands. Martha gaped at him.

"Isn't that hot!" she shrieked with worry. Bakura blinked at her, clearly unaffected by the burning hot glass bowl.

"It's warm…"

Martha stared at the bowl and touched it, yelping. "Eep!" Bakura chuckled, and set the bowl on the counter then closed the microwave door.

"Where're the spoons?" he asked. Martha got one for him and handed him a paper towel. She, still awed by Bakura, watched him leave to Joey's room. It was then she noticed that he didn't fix himself anything, and quietly put the bowl up.

"Hey, 'Kura." Joey greeted when Bakura came in. Bakura grinned and sat on Joey's bed, putting the bowl of soup in his lap.

"Oi, sick puppy." he joked, kissing Joey's cheek sweetly. Joey didn't even bother to protest, knowing that Bakura would just shut him up in one way or another. He sighed, and kissed Bakura back.

"I heard Martha gasp and yelp a few times. What'd you do?" he asked. Bakura stared at him for a moment, and then chuckled.

"I guess I freaked her out a little."

"…Weirdo."

"Of course. Now do you want me to feed this to you?"

Joey blushed. "Y-you don't have to…" Bakura shrugged, dipping the spoon in the soup, pieces of chicken and noodle drifting in with the broth. He carefully lifted it out, and stared at the steam coming from it.

"How do I cool it down?" he asked. Joey laughed and sneezed. He rubbed his nose, and smiled at Bakura.

"You blow on it." he said. Bakura paused for a moment, and then blew hard, causing it to splatter everywhere. He gazed at the now empty spoon, ignoring the fact that the previous spoonful was now soaking into his black cargo pants.

"Joey…it didn't work." he stated. Joey laughed again, and hugged Bakura, careful not to spill the bowl on his lap.

"'Kura you're so cute!" he said adoringly. Bakura blushed lightly and tapped Joey's head with the spoon.

"You are too. Now tell me how I _really_ do this."

"I did. You blow. But not as hard as you just did."

Bakura sighed, and dunked the spoon back in, taking it out and staring at it. "How hard _do_ I blow it?" he asked. Joey thought for a moment and grinned. He leant in to Bakura's ear, licking it and nipping at his earlobe. Bakura's breath hitched as Joey's tongue tickled his ear, a bolder blush coming to his cheeks. Joey then blew softly on Bakura's wet ear, sending shivers down Bakura's spine.

"Like that, 'Kura." he whispered, his warm breath cold on Bakura's ear. Bakura nodded, and looked at the spoon filled with chicken, little pieces of noodle and steaming broth. He puckered his lips, and slowly blew. The broth wavered a little in the spoon's crater, but didn't fly out. Bakura grinned and looked at Joey. Joey smiled. "That's it!" he said. Bakura nodded.

"Now open up." he said, nearing the spoon to Joey's lips. Joey parted his mouth, giggling when Bakura put the spoon in his mouth. He swallowed and the spoon was gently slid away between his lips. Bakura smirked. "This is easy."

Joey chuckled, kissing his ear again. "You're weird."

"I think we've already settled that issue."

"We have, but what's wrong with bringing back up?"

"What's wrong with it is that it's keeping you from eating. Open up."

Joey obliged. This went on for a while, Joey wanting to talk rather than eat and Bakura wanting to feed him rather than talk. Finally when the soup had completely vanished from the bowl, Joey had his way and would only stop for a sneeze. Bakura usually would have shut him up, but had no will to. Joey usually would have paused to let Bakura have a word, but found that bothering the yami was much more fun. Whenever they would try to start kissing or something, Martha would come bouncing in.

Frankly this annoyed Bakura more than Joey's non-stop talking. He was glad when she had excused herself to go run errands, meaning that the two had the entire apartment to themselves. Joey apparently had the same idea when he suddenly captured Bakura in a tight hug and kissed him full on the lips. Bakura was starting to think that it'd go into making out, but a sudden voice starting singing. Joey broke the kiss, and looked regretfully at his pants on the floor where the sounds seemed to be coming from.

Bakura looked as well, glaring at the pants. He could see a faint glow from the pocket area flashing a blue-ish color. Joey groaned and reached over Bakura to get them, but Bakura snatched them up just when he was starting to lay in his lap. He rummaged through the pockets, and pulled out a silver cell phone that was still singing and blinking.

"Who is it?" Joey asked. Bakura shrugged and looked at the screen, freezing instantly at the name in bold.


	9. CH8: Inside These Thoughts

**A/N:** Holy crap! I updated! --ish so proud of herself--

**Disclaimer:** Don't own YGO.  
**--------------------------------------------------------------**  
**Chapter 8: Inside These Thoughts**

He glared at it as his fingers tightened noticeably around the phone. Joey looked at him, confused. "'Kura? Wha—"

"Here." Bakura muttered and dropped the phone into Joey's open hand. He immediately turned his back to the blond, bending over slightly. He didn't see Joey's face become suddenly overwhelmed with puzzlement, only the strands of hair that shadowed his face dramatically. He didn't listen to Joey's questions of if he was alright, but did notice that they all stopped when he read the name.

"Oh. It's Yami. Wow, I betta call 'im back…" Joey's voice mumbled while Bakura's fists clenched. He didn't think Joey took note of this, and he really didn't give a fuck. All he could think about was how idiotic he had been; how _brainless_ and _forgetful_ he was. How could he forget that? How? He had known it for so long, but why did he _just now_ forget all about it? He narrowed his eyes.

He had forgotten that Joey was the enemy…

A damned cheerleader of the damned Pharaoh who had so graciously wrecked his entire life. A supporter of his most greatest and hated foe. The _fucking Pharaoh's friend._ Bakura shut his eyes, taking a deep breath. Why did he forget for the past two days that the man he had teased and laughed with and joked around with and kissed had such close ties to the Pharaoh? It really didn't seem like something he'd forget just like that. Maybe all what had been going on just affected him somehow to start doing these things? He opened his eyes, and looked at the floor. He stared at it until the carpet suddenly took the form of Marik's face. The face stared right back at him with a look of sheer apathy.

Could he…could he possibly still…still be in…_love_ with Marik? He had run away from the lately returned feelings of the other yami, and had run into Joey. Then it was suddenly kiss-kiss, hug-hug, "see you tomorrow", "certain someone", and him feeling a need to be with Joey. He didn't think about it at first, but now he was suddenly wondering,

_Am I just _that _desperate?_

Was he so needy that he'd forget about Joey's and the Pharaoh's relationship? Was he so dependent on another that he felt he had to be close to Joey? Or…or did he just substitute his fear of Marik's feelings for Joey's companionship and care? He did love Marik at one point, but when did he really stop loving him? Had he really stopped loving him at all? How did he know that he just didn't push down the feelings for so long that they had all just numbed? How did he know? Well, he didn't.

And he was sure as hell gonna find out.

He glanced at Joey, and flinched at the Pharaoh's name and the melodic laughter that followed. He didn't remember Joey ever laughing so sweetly around him. Maybe Joey was just using him to numb some sort of feeling for another like he may have been doing himself. He didn't like the idea of being used. He was used so many times and by people he either despised, trusted, or most hurtful of all, loved. He was evil, yes, but he was also human. He could be hurt just as easily as anyone else. And when that weakness showed and was taken advantage of, it took a large toll on his mental state.

Bakura stared at Joey now, wondering what the blond thought of him. Did he like him at all? Did he only want him there for his kisses and his words? Did he need him? Did he…love him? He asked himself that now. _Do I love him? Or do I love Marik? _He loved Ryou, but in a different way. He liked Malik, but only as a friend. He guessed he liked Duke for making Ryou so happy, but he hardly knew the guy. It was when he thought of Marik and Joey that everything stopped. The thoughts of Marik would hurt, while the thoughts of Joey were nice yet questionable at the same time.

Damn…it was annoying to be confused.

He sighed, and felt the need to lean against Joey. The warmth the blonde's touch gave him was more than any he had gotten from Marik's. He shifted back fully on the bed and curled himself up into a ball before falling gently against Joey's side. He closed his eyes, so he didn't see Joey's reaction. But he felt it when a strong arm snaked around him, holding him closely and protectively. He forced back a smile, but couldn't hide the look of pure contentment on his face. He heard a chuckle, a 'g'bye', a 'beep', and felt soft lips against his cheek.

"'Kura, what's wrong?" a gentle voice whispered worriedly in his ear. Bakura let out a small groan and put his face in Joey's side as he shrugged lazily. Joey smiled at him, gazing down at the pale yami lovingly. When he had first met Bakura way back when, he had to admit that he was scared shitless. Who wouldn't be? He was a psychopath! But…now as Joey started stroking Bakura's soft white hair, he didn't find any fear of him at all that he had once had. Sometimes he wondered if this Bakura was a fake; he was so much different from the one he used to fear. Or maybe he just changed…almost completely.

Joey kissed his head, for his own comfort as well as Bakura's. This feeling of 'he needs me and I need him' was so…_weird_. He never really felt that sort of feeling before. With Serenity it was 'I need to protect her because she needs me'; with Mai it was 'I want to protect her even if she _doesn't_ need me'. In both their cases, it was only them who needed him. But with Bakura, it went both ways.

He shook his head gently and closed his eyes, leaning against Bakura just enough where they were both comfortable. He tightened his hold on him to a snugger grip, also pulling him closer to his side. Bakura curled up his legs, forming himself into a tiny ball at Joey's side. His breathing became steady and calm as his head started to tip tiredly. Joey chuckled softly at this and rubbed Bakura's back soothingly.

"You tired, 'Kura?" he whispered into Bakura's ear. Bakura nodded. "You can sleep, y'know. I'll probably just watch you or follow you." Joey told him. Bakura's light blush was hidden and his yawn was muffled. He cuddled closer to Joey, holding on a little to Joey's wrinkly shirt. Joey smiled, kissed Bakura's head, and looked up at the ceiling, sighing a bit.

_Can I really be falling for him?_

_----------------------------------------------- _

_Ding-dong!_

Ryou blinked cutely at the door, his face tilting up from the lowered position that it usually was in when he read. He slid his bookmark in between the pages, closed the inch-and-a-half-thick book and set it gently on the coffee table. He rose to his feet, trotting to the door. When he opened it, he was immediately greeted with a bouquet of roses in his face.

"It's a 'just-cuz-I-love-ya' present." Duke said from behind the blooming red flowers. Ryou blushed and smiled, taking the roses.

"They're beautiful, Duke!" he gasped, staring at them. Duke smiled, leaning down to kiss Ryou's cheek sweetly.

"Not as beautiful as you." he whispered in his ear. Ryou blushed harder, and hustled back to the kitchen to find a vase to put his roses in. He soon did and put the bouquet in once he had filled it with cold water. He touched his nose to one and inhaled, giggling at its heavenly scent. Sensing Duke behind him, he said in awe:

"And they smell wonderful, too!"

Duke chuckled, and put his arms around Ryou's tiny waist, holding him close. "I'm glad you like them. I had them custom-grown just for my little koneko." he told him, nuzzling his face in his hair.

"Duke, you didn't have t—"

"But I wanted to. I want to do anything and everything to make you happy."

"Duke…"

Duke turned Ryou around in his arms and gave him a pure genuine smile. Ryou smiled back and put his arms around Duke, setting his cheek against the black-clad chest.

"Ryou, I love you." Duke whispered.

"I love you too, Duke." Ryou said just as soft. He gave Duke a tight squeeze as he added, "I love you so much." Duke chuckled and rubbed Ryou's back, causing said hikari to smile wider and cuddle closer. A small 'ding', signaling whatever was in the oven was now done, ended the hug. Ryou snatched up his oven mitts and took out the pan inside, setting in on the stove and turning the oven off. A delicious smell drifted in the air, making Duke's mouth start to water.

"What is that?" Duke asked, looking at the pan.

"My mum used to make bread and then put tons of sugar on top for Amane and I. It was our compromise for having sweets during the day." Ryou told him, looking at the bread affectionately. Duke grinned. As he slipped his arms around Ryou's waist he leant down to where his lips were brushing against Ryou's ear.

"I'm sure that you taste even sweeter." he whispered, nipping at Ryou's earlobe. Ryou blushed and bit his lip. Duke trailed his kisses down the side of Ryou's neck, mentally smirking when Ryou leant his head the other way, making his neck easier to kiss. His fingers traced Ryou's sides and when the shirt Ryou was wearing started to become an annoyance to him, he slid his hands beneath it, only running his fingertips up and down his sides. When he came up to chest level, the shirt lifted so far up that Ryou's pale front was then exposed, and that was when the kissing became more…_craving_, one could say. Ryou was letting out tiny moans of pleasure, leaning as much as he could into Duke's touches and pleading in his mind for more kisses. When Duke's lips hit a certain spot along Ryou's neck/shoulder area, Ryou let out a long moan, blushing as he did so.

He felt a grin on that spot, soon replaced with a warm tongue and hungry lips. To make matters, in this case, better, Duke's fingers found their way to Ryou's chest, grazing teasingly over his hardening nipples. Ryou's little 'happy noises' were slowly becoming louder and bolder than before, and Duke only found it appropriate that he suddenly spin Ryou around and pull him to his chest. They locked lips immediately, their tongues dancing wildly together in a newfound heatedness. Duke tugged Ryou's shirt upwards, breaking the kiss to toss it off. They both went right back at it and Ryou threw his arms around Duke's neck, pulling himself closer. Duke grasped the back of Ryou's head with both hands, deepening the furious kissing. Breath shot quickly in and out of their nostrils, and muffled moans escaped whenever they could. Some time later, Duke scooped Ryou up into his arms and walked to the table just outside the kitchen, his lips still busy with Ryou's.

He set Ryou on the table's surface, sitting him up and leaning forward with his hands on each side of his 'little kitten'. They broke the kiss for Duke's shirt to be yanked off with a sudden aggression by said 'kitten'. Duke and Ryou locked eyes for a moment, panting and blushing.

"Duke…" Ryou huffed. Duke put his mouth to Ryou's collarbone and nipped at it, earning more addicting mewls. Neither knew exactly when both their pants were unzipped, Duke's just barely hanging off his girlishly-curved hips while Ryou's were at his folded up knees. As Duke carelessly swiped away everything from the table to lower Ryou to it, realization seemed to dawn on the vulnerable hikari. "Duke…" he whimpered. Duke stopped attacking his jaw line and looked at Ryou quizzically.

"Yes, Ryou?" he asked. Before Ryou answered, he fingered Duke's long, flowing raven hair, trying to remember when the head band and hair tie had suddenly disappeared.

"Sh-should we be d-doing…this?" he asked timidly, blushing profoundly at his nakedness. Duke blinked at him, and stared at every inch of Ryou's frail body, holding his gaze on a certain..._area_. His face then grew in redness, and he stared into the wide brown eyes that bore into him.

Face and tone softening, he assured, "Only if you want to…" Ryou squirmed a bit, trying to subtly make his pants come back closer to cover him up. He shook his head, blushing so hard he thought his face went aflame.

"I-I'm not ready…" he stuttered, looking away. Duke forced back a submissive sigh, and put on a comforting smile. They had been dating for a long while now, but now he guessed he had gone a bit too fast for his little Ryou.

"Alright. It was my fault; I came onto you too fast." He apologized, kissing Ryou's nose sweetly. Ryou giggled, leaning back on his hands. At the moment he was still nervous from being so exposed to Duke, but he guessed that Duke being almost equally naked balanced it out.

"It's fine, Duke." Ryou told him, smiling. Duke grinned, and leant down for another kiss. Ryou obliged, murmuring, "I love you" before returning the kiss. It would have been a very tender moment if it hadn't been for a certain interruption…

--------------------------------

"Come pick you up tomorrow at three? 'Kay…yeah…no…you idiot!" Marik spoke into the phone, the last two words coming out harshly. A feminine laughter could be heard from the receiver, but one could tell that it was a male laughing. The laughing stopped and there was a pause in Marik's talking. "Tch.. Well, I'll see you tomorrow. Bye." With that, Marik hung up the phone, and sauntered over to the door, grabbing his keys on the way. He slipped on his shoes and left the house with one goal/destination in mind: Go see Bakura. Now.

Marik had been kept up all night by plaguing, not to mention out-there, thoughts of Bakura making-out with Joey Wheeler. C'mon, why would _those two_ be together? He hardly remembered them even glancing at each other from what he saw. Then again, you didn't see much of that between Duke and Ryou, but they were girly, so in some odd form of logic they didn't count. As he hopped on his motorcycle, revved the engine and took off, his mind drifted over to the taunting dreams from the night before. One had been mainly about Bakura being all-out uke for all-out seme Joey, which was strange because if he ever had a sex dream, _he _was at least _somewhere_ in it (he actually liked Uke-Bakura, so he didn't find that weird at all).

'_You were probably sulking and crying in the corner while that mutt had his way with your lovely, delicious Baka-ra.'_

Marik's eye twitched. Damn voices. There were probably more to come, but he was focusing on shutting that one up for now.

_It was all due to an unnecessary paranoia from yesterday. That hand holding Joey's could have _easily _been someone else's. _

'_But what if it's not? What _if_ Bakura and the mutt _are _going out?'_

_-Dot dot dot- _

'_Exactly.'_

From there, Marik just ignored his inner turmoil, paying attention to where he was supposed to park in front of Bakura's/Ryou's apartment building. Doing everything needed to keep his motorcycle in one place while he went to visit the albinism-affected teens, he hummed a made-up tune lowly to take his mind off things. The effect began to wear off as he trotted up the stairs due to a subconscious nervousness of seeing the white-haired yami and reached for the door knob. He instinctively jiggled the knob, shocked to find the door unlocked.

He pushed it open, at first not noticing what was going on in front of him. When he did, he was stunned at the sight.

Ryou's pants/boxers were pretty much falling off his ankles now, his legs split and folded up as he leant back on his hands on the table. His shirt was missing, and a few hickies were around his neck and shoulder area while a few love-bites showed on his pale chest. Duke, also shirtless, was leaning forward, caging Ryou with his hands placed firmly on each side of him. His pants were just about to ease off his hips, but that didn't need to happen to see "Little Duke", as Marik discovered first hand. To make the scene more…un-innocent, both teens were lip-locked, using their tongues visibly after a few seconds. Marik cleared his throat loudly, causing Duke's and Ryou's faces to snap from each other, and the kiss, to Marik.

Normally, Marik would have grinned like a maniac at how _horrified_ the teens seemed, but right now he was not only ridden with love-issues, but random-voices-in-his-head-issues. He cocked (lovely wording, eh?) an eyebrow.

"Did I just walk-in on something?" he asked, surprised at himself that he was without a smirk of any sort. He found people's misfortune entertaining except for when it was his own. And trust me, this would have be _waaay_ entertaining to him.

Ryou stuttered and stammered out his answer as he rushed to make himself decent, face beet red. Duke didn't do a damn thing for a moment due to his lack of shame, but then zipped up his pants when he realized that there was a sudden draft around that area…

"How'd you get in?" Duke asked as if nothing happened. Marik looked at the door lazily, shrugging slightly.

"You didn't lock it." he answered simply and shut it behind him. He was truly expecting Duke to hide from him or go banshee-dice-boy on him, but Duke just ignored him, helping Ryou in any way he could to calm him down. Marik sighed softly. He was, in all truth, envious of Duke and Ryou's relationship. Duke was a kind, caring boyfriend who knew when to back off from his playful teasing while Ryou was just too sweet to Duke, only wanting to make the game-maker happy. At first glance at Duke's lack of shame and Ryou's overall modesty, you wouldn't expect them to be as in love as they were. The sight Marik just saw was proof that you _really_ shouldn't judge a book by its cover, no matter how much you'd read it.

"Hey, so what's up, psycho?" Duke asked, embracing Ryou from behind. He knew that with his arms around Ryou, Ryou felt secure and a secure Ryou was a happy Ryou. Marik sort of glared at Duke, then looked at Ryou.

"Where's Bakura?" he asked. Ryou, still embarrassed, thought for a moment. He was debating whether or not to spill Bakura's little secret…

"Ano…he went out early this morning. He said he was stopping by a friend's house, but not much else." he improvised in a way that he wasn't lying at all. It was true because Bakura only told him he was going to Joey's to check up on him. Marik stared at Ryou for a moment, studying his eyes for any hint of a lie. He knew that Ryou rarely lied, but you never knew...

"He has friends?"

At this Duke burst out laughing, hiding his face in Ryou's shoulder. Ryou bit his lip to keep from chuckling at how blunt Marik sounded. Marik raised his brow, confused.

"Seriously, who else does he know other than us?" he asked. Ryou smiled, patting Duke's head.

"I heard he met someone a couple of days ago." he said, looking Marik in the eye. He didn't fail to notice the flash of hurt and disappointment that captured Marik's features for a second.

"I see…" Marik trailed off, looking to the side. His head hung down lower than his usual 'holier-than-thou' stance, and his back slumped over just a bit. Ryou looked at him sadly and tapped Duke's head to ask him politely to stop laughing. Duke grinned, pecking Ryou's cheek affectionately and resting his head on his shoulder. Ryou giggled, leaning into Duke's hold. He gave Marik a sympathetic look when he noticed how uncharacteristically dejected the yami was.

"Marik…is something wrong?" Ryou asked worriedly. Duke looked at Marik, just then noticing how…off he looked. Marik shook his head stubbornly.

"No. I just need to speak with Bakura." he settled firmly. Ryou sighed.

"I'll give you his cell phone number if you need to talk to him that badly." he offered. Marik's attention snapped up to Ryou, and the couple could tell that deep in his violet eyes, he was probably the most hopeful than he ever was. "Come here, I'll write it down for you." Ryou said, breaking away from Duke to go fetch a pen and paper that, thanks to Duke, was scattered all over the floor. When he got both items, he muttered to Duke, "You're cleaning this up." Duke grinned sheepishly and peered over Ryou's shoulder to see what he was doing.

Marik kicked his shoes off and walked quickly inside, maybe a bit too eager to get Bakura's number. Ryou handed the slip of paper to him, and suggested that he stay for a while. Marik obliged, grateful to Ryou and his Ryou-y ways.

"As long as I don't end up interrupting you two again, that is." he teased with a Cheshire cat grin. Ryou blushed while Duke glared, but overall they ended up laughing at the statement.


	10. CH9: The Want

**A/N:** Omr, I'm so late in updating this -shame- I've been hooked on FMA fanfics, so it took me a bit to get back into the YGO gear. I've also got some other stuff to take care of, so hopefully this'll hold yalls interest until I can get those done and update this again. Sorry again, I'm making it my New Year's revolution to not put things off.

**Disclaimer:** Don't own YGO. Wish I did though, I could buy all the mangas and DVDs with the money...

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**Chapter 9: The Want**

"'Kura, wake up…"

Bakura groaned, digging his face further into something warm. "Mmm…" he grumbled.

"Bakura...wake up…"

"Why?"

"'Cause my dad just got home."

"So?"

"He's a homophobe and will probably—"

Bakura sat up and shuffled around until he looked as if he were a normal visitor sitting on Joey's bed rather than a 'respected other' snuggling uncharacteristically up to the blonde. Joey chuckled.

"That was fast." he said, rubbing his nose. Bakura yawned and shrugged.

"Hm." he muttered. They were both quiet for a moment, listening. Footsteps wandered about outside the closed door, treading dangerously close a few times. After a few on-and-off expectancies of the door creaking open, Bakura's tolerance was slowly dying down. Joey, however, was perfectly fine with just leaning on Bakura, smiling softly at the warmth. Finally, after the footsteps trekked away from the door _again_, Bakura hissed one harsh sentence, "I can't take this anymore!"

With that he snatched Joey's lips in his, longing and desperate. His hands gripped Joey's head, pushing him forwards to make it all the deeper. At the moment he didn't really care if they ended up making out with Joey's dad right outside in the living room; all he wanted was Joey's lips sliding against his in a rhythmic dance, creating shoving friction between their mouths. He craved the taste of Joey's tongue, craved it so badly that he nearly forced the blonde's mouth open to get it.

Joey only followed Bakura's tactics, falling into it but a knock at his door hurled him into reality and he regretfully tore his lips from Bakura's. Bakura gave him a questioning look.

"What the fu—"

"Joey, are you awake?"

Bakura froze in his spot above Joey. During the kissing he had climbed on top of the blond and there wasn't an excuse in the world to get out of that if they were caught. Joey, thinking more than usual, called out, "Yeah!"

The knob jiggled, and the door eased open. Mr. Wheeler came in, finding nothing wrong with the situation. Joey was sick in bed and a friend of his was sitting next to him in a chair with a hand to his forehead. Normal.

"So, who's this young lady?" he asked, pointing to the 'girl' with long white hair and noticeable hips despite the large pants 'she' was wearing. 'She' twitched.

"Um…dad…"

"Hm? Didn't want me knowing about your girlfriend?"

"No, it's not that, it's—"

"I'm a bloody man!" Bakura burst out, turning around as he jumped to his feet. Mr. Wheeler jumped back from the mere _glare _he was getting.

"Bakura!" Joey scolded in a high voice. Bakura flinched again.

"But he—"

"I don't care! You don't yell at my dad!"

"But—"

"No 'but's, Bakura."

Mr. Wheeler only stared as Bakura deflated and pouted, crossing his arms and legs when he plopped back in the chair. Joey, however, was looking quite triumphant.

"Um, well, I guess it's nice to meet you, Bakura."

Bakura mumbled something back, but he couldn't hear.

"He said 'same here', pops." Joey lied, giving Bakura a warning glare. Mr. Wheeler shrugged and walked out, closing the door. Once both teens heard the TV go on full blast, they gave each other looks.

"He fucking hurts you! I have a right to talk back to him!" Bakura said immediately. Joey rolled his eyes.

"You do, but you can't just ruin the non-drunkenness moment just because you're overprotective!"

"So?! If you wanted you could stay with me!"

"Bakura, you know I—"

"Ryou wouldn't mind at all!"

"How do you know?"

"Because he's my hikari and if I don't mind then he sure as Hell won't!"

Joey let out a loud, tired sigh. "Bakura, yer givin' me a headache."

Bakura stuck his tongue out. "Bleh!" he said. Joey glared at him and closed his eyes, brow furrowed. Bakura stared at him for a moment, thinking. "Do you want any Advil or something?" he asked finally.

Joey cracked open one eye and a small grin. "Yeah. It's right there next to the tissues. I can take it dry."

Bakura took the bottle labeled 'Advil' and turned the top to open it. He did this over and over, gradually getting frustrated that it wouldn't open. He shut his eyes to keep his cool, a bead of sweat forming near his temple. He growled and his fingers were turning red from the amount of pressure they were exerting on the bottle cap.

Why wouldn't the damn thing open?!

His eyes snapped open and he glared at the bottle, making angry grunts and hisses as he kept trying to remove the cap with sheer force. At last he let out a frustrated yell and held the bottle out to Joey, his head hung down in defeat.

Needless to say, Joey was laughing his ass off.

"Bakura!!" he choked out, wiping away a tear and taking the bottle from Bakura. Bakura glared at him, blushing just a tad.

"Shut up." he muttered. Joey grinned and squeezed the tabs on the sides of the cap and turned it, causing it to come off easily. He tipped it to coax some of the little red pills out, tipping it back up when he got the two he needed. He closed the bottle and handed it to Bakura, smiling sweetly.

Bakura looked at Joey flatly. For a minute he just stared, ignoring the plastic bottle he had battled with just seconds ago. His mouth opened as if to retort, but shut it and took the bottle back. Muttering a few curses under his breath, he dropped it on the side table, not really caring that it fell on its side and nearly rolled off the surface. Joey snickered and swallowed the pills.

"You're so cute, 'Kura." he said adoringly. Bakura blushed and looked away.

"No I'm not." he grunted. Joey made a thoughtful humming sound.

"Either you're cute or you're clueless, 'Kura. Which do you prefer?" he asked 'innocently'. Bakura glared at him. Then he stood and climbed on top of him, hands on the head board to trap Joey's head. Joey, heart racing at their position, blushed profoundly. Bakura's narrowed, mischievous yet solemn eyes were staring intently into his. He felt a heat rise between them as Bakura lowered his face to his, lips parting just slightly.

"I'd prefer it if you'd shut up and let me kiss you." Bakura whispered lowly, brushing his lips softly against Joey's as a tease. Joey whined, wanting more than just the brush. Bakura grinned a mildly toothy grin, his sharpened canines standing out like vampire teeth, and Joey found it one of the most effective turn-ons he'd ever imagined. That evil, sinister grin made his stomach churn and his body plead for more.

"'Kura…" he breathed. One brush of their lips affected him so much it almost hurt to not receive more. Bakura had no idea how easily he could torture the poor blond just by touching him, just by the meet of their skin. He was putty in the pale yami's hand, maybe even more liquefied.

Bakura's lips came down to capture Joey's in a kiss, gentle at first but had quickly become fierce and wanting. Their tongues danced together, their lips rubbed against each other, and their hips started to come closer and closer on their own. Joey's rough fingers dug into Bakura's hair and scalp, pulling him as close as he could. Bakura's long, slender digits weaved into Joey's golden tresses, guiding his head to tilt up so he could gain more control over the kiss. Their pelvis's began to attempt to fuse together it seemed as their lower areas ground together harshly.

Every chance they could they took a breath, but it was long before they actually needed to pause making out to breathe. Groins throbbing, hard and pressed close together, they moaned in unison, faces flushed and diaphragms heaving. At first their foreheads were touching, but the hot air around them was constricting Bakura's oxygen intake and he threw his head back, mouth open to pant and moan when he rubbed against Joey yet again. Joey, whimpering pitifully, began to tug Bakura back down.

"Bakura…'Kura…" he begged. Bakura dipped his head down almost immediately, crushing his lips against Joey's. Joey moaned deeply, kissing back wildly and rolling his hips upwards. Bakura began to clutch at his hair now, going along with Joey's hips but at a rougher, dominant pace with a pleasuring force. Taking one hand from Joey's neck he began to fiddle with his pants, his hardened manhood thriving to escape from its cloth confinement. But his fingers were shaky and hesitant, more so when they grazed against the tent that was poking up from the covers.

Joey, partially aware of what Bakura's hand was having trouble to do, started to pull back from the kiss. Bakura would always snatch his lips back, however. It took some struggling to finally get it through Bakura's mind what Joey was trying to do. Red, clouded eyes gave the lustful but scared brown ones a curious look.

"What—"

"Dad…"

Bakura's face went blank for a moment, his hand stopping at Joey's covered erection. He'd forgotten about that man who was watching TV in the other room, who might have heard the moans and groans and could have been thinking about coming to check it out. Bakura sighed a rattled breath, touching his forehead with Joey's, his hand fingering the blonde's neck lovingly, stroking the mass of gold hair.

"I forgot…" he whispered, placing a gentle kiss on Joey's nose. Joey smiled, reaching up to kiss Bakura's chin.

"If he weren't here…"

Bakura grinned, chuckling lowly. After kissing Joey's lips once more he sat up, straddling Joey's hips a little better. They never let go of the other's neck in a subconscious wanting to be closer. Bakura glanced down at their 'excitement' and chuckled again.

"What're we gonna do about this?" he asked, subtly pulling the covers from Joey's. Joey blushed, looking down as well.

"Well…I have no idea…"

Bakura bit his lip. "I don't know about you but I'm so hard it hurts…" he admitted, a small blush on his cheeks. Joey, not used to being told such personal things, laughed nervously.

"Yeah…but you've got pants on. I'm only in boxers. That might have something to do with—Bakura! What're you doing?!"

Bakura's previously unoccupied hand had wrapped around 'Little Joey' beneath the covers. It had managed to come through the slit in the boxers, therefore making it easier for Bakura to grab. He smirked and ran his hand up and down Joey's length, causing the blond to moan loudly.

"Ba-Bakura…don't…"

"There's no other way."

Joey looked away, biting his lower lip. His hands held on tighter to Bakura's neck, signaling he made his decision.

He gave a small smile. "Just as long as I get to do you."

Bakura grinned. "Of course."

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**A/N:** Just some yaoi goodness for yall. My Christams present to you (or whatever holiday you celebrate...). Hope you liked it. 


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